Stories of You and Me
by LonelyWriter42
Summary: NejiHina stories, latest: Hinata and Tadanobu hang out and Neji makes a surprise appearance between missions!
1. Snow Dance

Snow Dance

Author: LonelyWriter

Summary: Snow is rare in Konoha so when it does snow, Hinata sneaks out to play but someone is watching and waiting, knowing that she will sneak out and ends up sharing a snow dance with her.

Disclaimer: Do I look like Kishimoto? (If I do I'm scared. I'm a girl, dammit.)

Snow.

The delicate white flakes lazily floated down from the sky, slowing painting the ground a glittering white.

Hinata raised her hands upwards with her palms up, giggling as little drips of water formed on her palms as the snow melted at the heat of her hands.

Snow was rare in Konoha because of their position in the world, the village rarely dropped to a temperature low enough for water to freeze and turn to snow. Hinata glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one was following her. Neji had been especially vigilante lately, perhaps because she always sneaked out of the compound when it snowed. It was the only time she even thought about disobeying her father's commands, because it was one of the only things she remembered about her mother. It had snowed on her fifth birthday and the heavily pregnant lady Hyuga had taken her daughter to the small meadow tucked away in the woods that surrounded the village where they had spent the afternoon. Her mother's laugh was the clearest thing in her memory about her mother because she had spent that whole afternoon laughing at her daughter's antics.

The fresh silvery blanket crunched pleasantly under the Hyuga heiress's feet as she slipped in between the tree and broke out into a run, the want and need to get to her mother and her meadow overcoming her. No one else in the family understood her love of the fluffy white stuff and even if she explained it to them they would only scoff and tell her that she should let go of such childish memories, but she didn't want to. To her, these memories kept the most important woman in her life alive and she would give anything for that to happen.

By the time she arrived in the meadow her cheeks were red and tears stung at the corners of her eyes. She gave a sniffle and took a swipe at her nose, closing her eyes. She hadn't expected the bombardment of emotions to take her over. Her mother had been dead for eleven years. Eleven years in which her father had effectively erased all mementos of his beloved late wife so he wouldn't have to be reminded of her death. His reasons always made Hinata want to laugh because both she and Hanabi were always right there in front of him. How he could think of his children not of his wife, she wasn't sure. It certainly took two people to make a baby.

She let out a humorless laugh as she opened her eyes. Why was she thinking of such things? Right now, in this place, she only wanted to remember happy memories. With a sigh, she let her feelings melt away, leaving her with an empty heart, just like she wanted. Here, in this place, all she wanted to do was relax. She did not want to think about her clan. Her responsibilities. All she wanted to think about was the beautiful satiny blanket that had enveloped the world.

A grin spread over her face as she raised her arms over her head and started spinning around. Small puffs of snow surrounded her feet as she danced around, throwing her head back with a laugh.

Life was simple at this place. She didn't have to worry about anything. She could go back to that little girl that had seen snow for the first time on her fifth birthday and enjoy the wonder that only childhood innocence could bring. When she left this place she would be come the prim and proper Hyuga princess again, but until then she was going to enjoy herself.

She stopped her dance and dropped to a crouch, scooping up snow into her hands and letting it slowly fall through, her eyes sparkling. It had been so long since it had snowed, and by that, it had been a long time since she had allowed herself to relax. Another giggle escaped her lips and she straightened with a jump, spinning around again. She continued like that for several moments until she noticed someone standing just out of the forest with their arms crossed over their chest.

She stopped, feeling her cheeks heat up. He had seen her crazy antics, hadn't he? He probably now thought her the silliest airhead in Konoha and she knew for a fact that he considered Ino the ultimate ditzy blonde airhead, ever.

He made eye contact and she flinched. He was angry. And she was the reason. Her shoulders slumped and she started to slowly walk toward him. She kept her head down so she wouldn't have to see the glowering anger in his eyes as he scolded her for sneaking out of the compound.

"Nii-san," she whispered as she stopped in front of him.

"Hinata-sama," he sighed as if she was the heaviest burden in the world. "You know that you are not allowed out the compound without your guards and having done so you have placed yourself at risk. What would the Hyuga do if you were kidnapped or worse, killed?"

"I just…"

"Just what?" He groaned. "You just wanted to dance around the meadow in frigid temperatures like a woman possessed, not to mention you are not dressed for this weather."

She glanced down at her clothing and noticed for the first time that she was wearing only a thin jacket over her clothing. "Nii-san, I," she said, glancing up at him. "I," she whispered, staring him in the eyes. "Nii-san, dance with me," she said, grabbing his hands and pulling him around in a circle. The look she had seen in his eyes was fleeting, but she recognized it because she often saw it in her own eyes. It was one of deep amusement with something else behind it that she couldn't quite grasp. But it didn't matter right then. She was caught up in the moment, in the fact she was dancing with her cousin.

"Hinata-sama, you are making me dizzy," he sighed after a time.

"Oh, sorry," she blushed, slyly looking up into his eyes. "I was caught up in the moment."

"I see," he said, his eyes regaining the amused look. "And what was that?"

She blushed bright red. "I was dancing with you."

"Oh?" He cocked his eyebrow before shaking his head. "Do you dream of this?"

"Nii-san!" She protested.

He throw back his head and laughed. "You are so cute, Hinata-sama."

"Nii-san?" Her eyes widened. "What are you saying?"

"You're cute. What more do I have to say?" He brought his hand up to her cheek. "But silly. Who runs away on the coldest day of the year and dances around in the snow? What ever will I do with you? You are _so_ much trouble."

"Nii-san," she stuck out her lower lip. She thought for once in her life that Neji was trying to be nice to her, but he was just joking at her expense. "Why are you so mean?"

"I'm not mean," he replied, wrapping his arms around her waist and spinning her around. "I came here to dance. Why are you here?" He pressed his forehead to hers and smiled.

"I'm here to dance, too," she grinned.


	2. Umbrella

Umbrella

Author: LonelyWriter42

Summary: Snow was always her favorite, especially now that her cousin had danced with her in it, but on that day, rain became her favorite when he shared an umbrella with her.

Disclaimer: I haven't written one in so long I don't know what to say. . . DRAGONFLIES!

Raindrops splashed into the puddles forming on the street as she opened her umbrella. The sun had been red and the sky pink this morning when she had awoken and gone to the dojo, but by the time she had left at lunch, dark, angry looking grey clouds had appeared on the horizon and now her afternoon training session with her sensei had been called off.

Kurenai-sensei usually didn't call off training for anything, at least, that had always been the unspoken rule until Akari was born. Hinata was happy that her sensei was happy and after her husband's death, Kurenai had had fewer occasions to be happy. Akari's birth had been a blessing for her sensei; the woman's dark red eyes had shown a spark of life again. And it helped that the little girl was so cute and easy to handle; unless it started thundering and lightning. Akari was terrified by both, hence the reason that training had been called off today.

Hinata was glad that she had through to bring an umbrella when she had seen darkening sky. If she hadn't, she would be drenched by the time she got home.

Citizens of Konoha were scurrying around trying to get their business done so they could get out of the rain but she was walking lazily down the street. It didn't matter how fast or slow she walked, she would be dry when she got home.

She passed Yamanaka flower shop and saw Ino diving for flower pots to get them out of the rain and her father throwing tarps in a futile attempt to save his plants from being waterlogged. The indigo haired girl laughed and waved at her friend. For some reason the rain had lifted her spirit and she felt like dancing even though it was completely illogical. But then again dancing in the snow was just as illogical and she liked to do that. . . A blush colored her cheeks crimson as she clenched the umbrella handle more tightly, her other hand going to her flush face. The snow had been melted for almost six months and yet she still blushed every time she thought of Neji stumbling upon her while she was dancing and then joining her.

Their relationship had always been complicated and now it was even more so as she tried to make sense of her jumbled emotions. She didn't have a crush on him like she did Naruto, but there was something between the two of them that was even deeper than a crush. She was sure it wasn't love as he was the man that not so long ago had tried to kill her merely because she existed but she did know that it was some sort of special emotion.

A whimsical smile came to her face as she saw a young couple walking slowly down the street much like her, under an umbrella. Her cheeks heated up slightly as she realized that she was thinking about how _she_ wanted to share an umbrella with the boy she liked.

A movement caught the corner of her eye and she saw a kitten trying desperately to get out of the rain. She paused and debated what she should do. She wanted to help out the kitten but her father and sister were allergic to cats and would get rid of it as soon as they saw it. It paused in it's pawing at the door of the shop and turned to look at her. The most pathetic meow that she had ever heard escaped it's jaw and Hinata had to bend over and pick it up.

"What am I going to do with you?" She whispered as she cradled it against her chest. "You can't come home with me and yet I can't leave you on the street." A heavy sigh escaped her lips and in her contemplation she didn't notice the shop door opening. Hard won reflexes kept her on her feet and out of the mud of the street. Somehow she kept her grip on the kitten but the umbrella escaped her grasp as she flung it aside to catch herself on one hand. She looked up at the person who had opened the door ready to give them a harsh scolding when she saw that it was… Neji.

"You should be more careful, Hinata-sama," he sighed as he reached around her and picked up the umbrella. "What do you have?" He asked suspiciously, eying the ball of orange fluff in her arms.

"I couldn't just leave it in the rain," Hinata sighed as she showed him the cat. "It's drenched and I just couldn't leave it."

He cocked an eyebrow, "And just what are you going to do with it when you get it home? Hiashi-sama and Hanabi-san are allergic."

"Well, I," she glanced down at the cat and blushed. "Nii-san…"

"Oh no. I am not taking care of that cat," Neji protested.

"Please?" She turned all her cuteness on him. His eyes widened that she was willing to go so far for a stray cat. Maybe…

"Only if you will share that umbrella," he huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't want to get wet going home."

She smiled at him. "Thank you, Nii-san." She positioned the umbrella over their heads and they started back to the compound in silence other than the purr that the cat was giving off.

"Rain isn't as pretty as snow," she observed when they were half way home.

"Oh? I like it just fine," Neji said, glancing up at the clouds. "Rain means that everything will be greener tomorrow."

"You are a poet," she laughed. "Everything will be greener on the marrow thus the rain today will not get my mood down. Or something like that, right?"

He gave her a quizzical look before shaking his head. "Hinata-sama," he sighed. "You are very whimsical, aren't you? Dancing in the snow, making poetry about rain. You are not cut out to be a ninja."

Her eyes widened and she almost felt like hitting over the head with her umbrella but then she heard his next words. "You should be a princess in a castle with all the men of the land vying to have your hand."

"Would you be there trying, too?" She tried not to sound interested but she couldn't entirely suppress it from her voice.

He looked over at her and the emotions she saw in his eyes were enough to make her heart stop. "Perhaps," he replied, reaching over to ruffle her hair. "Now let me see this thing that I will be taking care of." He scooped the cat into his hands and studied it. "Now listen, I'm going to be taking care of you. That means you will listen to what I say."

Hinata started giggling when the cat gave him a questioning look and meowed. "I don't think she understands you, Nii-san."

"She will, eventually," he replied.

"What are you going to name her?"

He glanced at her with the corner of his eye before grinning. "Hina."

"Hina?" She repeated with a blush.

"Yes, I have a feeling that she will be as much trouble as her namesake. Running away in the middle of the night to throw snowballs at me. I should have left you out there to freeze."

"You invaded my personal time and space. You deserved it."

"I thought it was because I made you blush," he idly stroked the cat's fur.

"You," she exclaimed, not sure if she was angry with him or not as they entered the gates of the compound.

"The rain has stopped," he smiled. "Thank you for sharing your umbrella with me, Hinata-sama." He bowed respectively and walked away, talking to the orange fluff in his hands again.

His words washed over her and she blushed crimson. They had shared an umbrella and all of Konoha had seen it. She wasn't sure if she was mad at him for slyly menuvering her into that position or happy that he saw her in such a light. All she did know was she was looking forward to seeing him tomorrow to figure it out.


	3. Hinagiku

Hinagiku

Author: LonelyWriter42

Summary: The kitten from the rainy day brings a smile to Hinata's face every time she sees it, but she never expected it to bring her and Neji closer together.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

"Come here, Hinagiku," Hinata called, holding out her hands for the kitten to smell. She was sitting on the outside walkway that went between the branch house and the main house trying to get the orange fluff ball that she had rescued off the streets to play with her.

Neji hadn't been home when she came over but his mother had found the kitten for Hinata to play with, a secretive smile on her face.

"Hinagiku," the indigo haired girl sighed when the kitten chased after a butterfly and fell to the ground. "You need to be more careful."

The kitten completely ignored her as it started exploring the ground, fascinated by bugs scurry by and flowers ruffled in the wind. "Hinagiku," she called again.

"Did you change the name of my cat?" Neji called from the shoji where he was about to enter his room.

"Hinagiku is cuter than just plain Hina. She likes it better," Hinata replied, forcing herself not to jump when he suddenly called out.

"Has she come to you when you call that name?" He questioned with a raised brow.

"Not yet," she blushed.

"I figured as much," Neji shook his head. "Just call her Hina."

"I was thinking about taking her to the koi pond," Hinata deflected his comment. "I think she'll like it."

"She'll drown!" Neji scowled, walking over and scooping up the cat. "You are trying to bring harm to my cat!"

"I seemingly remember that you didn't want to take care of her to begin with," Hinata stood up so she could stroke the kitten's soft fur.

"Yeah, well, she's mine now," he clenched Hina closer.

Hinata raised the sleeve of her kimono to her mouth so he couldn't see her smile and also to stifle the giggle threatening to escape. "Nii-san…"

"We can take her on a walk," Neji decided, ruffling Hinata's hair.

"How? She'll run away," Hinata frowned.

"That's why I got her a leash. For when you were determined to come over and play with her," he shook his head. "You would think…"

"Think what?" She asked.

"Never mind," he passed the kitten into her arms and went inside.

"Nii-san is weird," Hinata whispered to Hinagiku. "Where do you think we are going?"

"You said that you wanted to go to the koi pond," Neji shook his head as he slipped the harness over the kitten's shoulders.

"Okay," she gave him a smile.

"You can hold the leash," he held it out to her.

"What, not manly enough?" She teased with a laugh but secretly she was pleased that he would offer to let her walk to kitten. They started walking and she headed toward the Hyūga koi pond but he took her arm and gently led her out of the compound toward the large koi pond on the edge of Konoha. He casually kept his hand on her arm as they navigated the streets and several people turned and looked at them as they passed. When they passed Yamanaka flower shop Ino's jaw dropped open and the plant that she was holding slid from her hands. The gossip wheels in Ino's brain where spinning, Hinata knew, and by tomorrow everyone in Konoha, whether they wanted to know, or even cared, would know that Neji and Hinata had walked through the streets together. In what appeared to be a lover's embrace.

Hinata's cheeks flushed crimson and she sneakily looked up at Neji's face, but he was staring straight forward, not looking at her. Was he _playing_ with her? She had never been able to figure her cousin out and now she was even more confused. What was he trying to do? The Neji she knew as always cold and stoic, but in the recent months that façade had been breaking and now… now he was someone Hinata couldn't figure out no matter how much she wanted to.

Hinagiku pulled against her harness and Hinata turned her attention back to the cat, noticing that she was batting at a leaf. "Hinagiku is silly, isn't she, Nii-san?" Hinata looked up at him but his mouth was set in a stiff line and he released her arm as he bent over and picked up the cat.

"Carry her," he ordered, turning away.

"Nii-san?" Hinata asked in total confusion. Not five minutes ago they had been talking and joke with one another. What had happened that he was now acting like this? "Nii-san," she repeated.

"The lake is up ahead," he said, not turning to look at her.

"I don't understand you!" She huffed as she pushed past him and rushed down the path, not sure why he was irritating her this way. It was true that her Nii-san wouldn't be acting this way; he wouldn't be showing enough emotion to let anyone suspect that he possessed such inferior things, but now… that man was irritating her to her very limits and she wasn't going to put up with it any more.

"Men are so infuriating, aren't they Hinagiku," she sighed as she buried her face in the cat's soft fur. "Why can't they just be straight forward and say what is on their minds? Why do they have to hide it behind cryptic nonsense?"

The kitten blinked at her several times before closing its eyes and starting to purr. "You have it so easy, don't you, Hinagiku-chan." Hinata shook her head.

"Watch where you are going!" Neji yelled, running to catch her arm just before she took a step down into the water. "What is wrong, Hinata? You are usually more observant!"

"Sorry, Nii-san," she bowed her head and didn't look at him.

"Hinata-sama," his sigh was so deep that she wasn't sure if he had any oxygen left in his lungs.

"Yes, Nii-san?" She stared up at him innocently. His jaw tightened and his lips pressed into a thin line and then…she wasn't sure what was going on, all she knew was her brain activity had stopped as Neji pressed his lips to hers.

The kiss wasn't long and it was soft, so soft, like the brush of butterfly wings against her cheek; it was everything she had expected her first kiss to be like and yet, Naruto was supposed to be her first kiss when he declared his love for her. She and Naruto would become girlfriend and boyfriend and every dream she had ever had would come true but this… this…

Neji pulled back and his pale eyes stared straight into hers, eyes that were the same color, that bore the same kekkei genkai, eyes that had always looked on him with friendship but now he was challenging her to make their relationship something more.

"Nii-san," she whispered, blinking back tears. She saw his eyes widen at the tears and saw the deep hatred flare in his eyes, but she knew this time it wasn't directed at her, it was at himself for putting her in this situation.

"I'm sorry Hinata-sama; I should not have done that. I will report myself to Hiashi-sama." He said as he turned away.

"Neji," the word came out of a clenched mouth, angry at him not because he had kissed her, but because he felt the need to apologize to her, that he felt the need to ask to be punished. He turned back to her and she raised her fist a fraction of an inch in an attempt to slap him but what was three feet behind him changed her mind and she pushed him backward into the koi pond. Surprise radiated from his face as he flew through the air and a giant splash occurred as he hit the water.

"That's for thinking you needed to apologize," she said with her hands on her hips. "I admit that I didn't think you thought of me that way and I was surprised that you kissed me, but it's not something you're supposed to apologize for!" She yelled in frustration as Hinagiku, forgotten in the confusion of the last several minutes, butted her head against Hinata's ankle. "Hinagiku thinks you are an idiot, too!"

A slow smile came to Neji's face and he slowly pulled himself out of the water. "Hinagiku does?"

"Yes," Hinata turned her face away from him as she bent down and picked up the kitten. "You are an idiot, Neji."

"I can accept that," he said, dipping his head. "Now you've gone and done it," he shook his head.

"What?" She asked genuinely curious.

"Now I'm calling her Hinagiku."

Hinata let out a giggle. "I told you that was her name."

"Yeah," Neji smiled softly. "Let's head back. I look like I just went for a swim in the koi pond."

"And you smell like it too," Hinata said with a chuckle. His grin was infectious and she started smiling as they walked slowly back to the compound. It would be several weeks before she realized that she had stopped calling him Nii-san on that day, but by that point, he was no longer her brother, he was something more.


	4. Awkward

Awkward

Author: LonelyWriter42

Summary: Things have been quite awkward for Hinata ever since Neji kissed her.

Disclaimer: L pwns all.

Awkward.

That had been her feelings whenever she had seen her cousin for the next several weeks. The kiss had been spontaneous, she knew that, but it was still uncomfortable to be in the same room as him. The next morning she had passed him in the hall and abruptly walked the other way, trying to ignore the hurt look in his eyes as she did so.

Years of living in the Hyūga compound helped her keep her facial expressions to a minimum and all body language neutral. She wondered what Hinagiku was up to but she didn't dare risk going to _Neji's_ house to see the kitten. Even if she knew her older cousin wasn't there, she wasn't ready for the looks his mother would give her. Ever since she had forced Neji to take Hinagiku she had visited her cat every day but that came to an abrupt halt after the day at the lake.

Her mind still hadn't come to terms with his invasion of her person and every night she had to force the memories of his soft lips against hers out of her mind. Had he even realized what he had done to her? Had he realized that she was perfectly aware of herself and _him_? Did he even care?

She turned abruptly when she saw he was coming down the hallway, obviously having just met with her father. She ducked into a side room and held her breath as he passed the door, his face set in a frown.

He was beautiful.

She clasped her hands over her mouth so she wouldn't cry out at her own thoughts. Where had that come from? They were cousins, their fathers twins. In the ancient times the Hyūga might have committed incest to keep the bloodlines pure, but no more, not after that year, some eighty years ago, when many children born into the Hyūga had physical and mental problems because of the close bloodlines of parents.

She let out the breath she was holding and took in an experimental breath finding that the air still held faint lingerings of his sent. Sandalwood washed over her and she knew that Neji had been in her father's study because Hiashi regularly had the incense burning to calm his mind. Hints of leather were the next to come over her, from the hitai-ate he so proudly wore and finally the scent she loved most, the musky scent that had hints of amber and what she always thought was cinnamon.

Her face heated up when she realized that she was thinking about how Neji smelled. Sure he smelled better than Shino and was far better groomed than Kiba but still… She didn't like him, right? She was in love with Naruto. She had been for… forever. Neji was the cousin that just happened to be taking care of her pet kitten right now. Nothing more. Nothing more. Nothing mor…

"Hinata," the deep voice sighed from behind her and she flinched. It was an automatic response, one she had been trying to break herself of but obviously it hadn't worked so far. She slowly turned around and plastered a smile on her face.

"Father," she bowed her head.

"Why are you lurking in the hall closet, Hinata?" Hiashi had the long suffering tone in his voice. Even though father and daughter's relationship had gotten better over the years, he still held the weary tone when talking to her, just as she always winced when she heard him speak.

"I, uh," Hinata quickly looked around searching for an escape, somewhere, anywhere. "I thought that I heard a…cat! Yes, I heard a meow coming from somewhere and was trying to find it. I didn't want it to get near you or Hanabi because of your allergies."

Hiashi studied her and by the expression on his face he clearly didn't believe her.

"Neji recently got a cat," she said desperately, felling horrible for bringing Hinagiku into the conversation but she figured that Neji deserved it for giving her sleepless nights. "I thought perhaps that it was in the main house. I saw him walk past not so long ago."

Hiashi's eyes turned thoughtful. "Yes, I was speaking with him earlier. I shall ask the servants to search for this cat." Hiashi nodded once as if he thought his idea was good. "And I shall call Neji once more and tell him not to bring that cat into the main house again," he muttered as he walked away.

"Sorry, Neji," Hinata bowed her head. Her hands gripped the fabric of her kimono tightly as she slowly turned and stepped out of the closet. She was heading to her room when she changed her mind and stopped in the walkway. She spun on her heal and turned the other direction. She could tell when she entered into the part of the compound where the branch family lived, it was just as clean and well tended, but paint was chipping here and there, the boards that made up the walkway weren't the bright golden color like in the main house and the buildings didn't feel the same. They felt like people actually _lived_ in them as opposed to the main house where everything had it's place and had to stay in that place.

She approached Neji's house slowly, still indecisive as to whether she wanted to be there or not. But as always, Neji made up her mind for her.

"Hinata," he said with his arms crossed over his chest. "Why does Hiashi-sama think that I would bring Hinagiku into the main house?"

She winced and realized that she had been wondering around for longer than she thought she had. He had had plenty of time to be summoned by her father and returned to his house. "I'm sorry, Neji."

He snorted and crossed his arms over his chest in aggravation. "Is that all you have to say?"

She looked up at his confused, not understanding what he was talking about.

"This is why I hate females," Neji sighed, rolling his eyes. "Oblivious."

"Hey," Hinata protested. "I'm not oblivious!"

"Yes, you are," Neji shook his head. "Or maybe dense would be a better word. Hinata-sama is dense. That sounds better."

"Neji," Hinata raised her hand to her mouth to muffle her gasp. "You…"

"No," he replied, bending down to pick an orange ball of fur up. "It was something I did spontaneously. I apologize if I put in a compromising position. It was not my intent. You just," he shook his head then put Hinagiku into her arms. "Hinagiku misses you."

"Does she?" Hinata whispered stroking the soft fur. "Or does someone else miss me?"

His eyes met hers and he gave her a brittle smile. "Hinata-sama, before that," he clenched his jaw and his face became distorted, "time we had a good relationship. Can we go back to it?"

Hinata continued stroking Hinagiku's fur with a thoughtful look on her face. "If you answer a question for me. Why did you kiss me?"

His eyes widened and he nodded. "You have a right to know." He was silent for several minutes and Hinata almost didn't think he was going to answer when he said softly, "Seeing you standing by the lake, scolding Hinagiku like a small child… You were very beautiful to me, Hinata. I guess I got caught up in the moment and kissed you without thinking. I am sorry."

Hinata studied his face and saw in his eyes that he was telling the truth. "I accept your apology, Nii-san."

A large smile came to his face. "So, what do you want to do? Hinagiku did like the koi pond…"

Hinata laughed. "Don't you think that we should go somewhere safer? How about Ichiraku? I'm getting hungry and I'll even let you pay."

"Ah," he laughed, "Is that the main house's strategy? Make us pay for your meals."

"Perhaps," Hinata giggled and sent him a coy look. "Hurry up. We're hungry, right Hinagiku?" The kitten looked up at her then across at Neji. It let out a pathetic meow that made both Neji and Hinata laugh.

"Alright, alright, we're going." Neji shook his head.


	5. Lazy

Lazy

Author: LonelyWriter42

Summary: Even lazy afternoons in the Hyūga manor are part of Jūken training.

Disclaimer: Own Naruto I do not.

Neji sat in the alcove on the verandah outside Hinata's room reading a scroll as she sat just inside the doorway flipping through a magazine on frilly, girly things. Hinagiku was happily chasing a butterfly around the yard and Neji suppressed a smile. Hinata had scolded the kitten only moments earlier about chasing and eating butterflies. The day had started off lazy and had continued to be so, the only things he had to do today was keep Hinata company so she didn't wander off and get herself into more trouble than she could handle.

Neji turned around to look at his cousin and saw that she had a brush clenched between her teeth as she gazed down at the magazine spread out in front of her. She was lying on her stomach with that cute furrow of her brow and pouty lips as she read. He smiled and turned back to his scroll on advanced Jūken techniques.

"Neji," Hinata said thoughtfully and he turned to look at her with an upraised brow. "How would you rate my personality?"

He stared at her for a long moment before repeating, "Your personality?"

"Yes," she groaned as she looked up at him.

"How is the ranking system set up?" He inquired.

She let out an exasperated sigh. "One to ten scale."

"One being lowest and ten highest?" He asked.

She nodded and started twirling the brush between her long, nimble fingers.

He pretended to contemplate the answer. "Eight point five," he said, sticking his tongue out at her.

"Eight point five," she repeated with a frown. "What happened to the other one and a half points?"

"Let me see," he said, holding up a hand, closed fist. "One," his pointer finger shot up, "You have the most annoying habit of wondering away without telling your guardian," he pointed at himself, "where you are going. Two," his middle finger came up, "you find a stray cat on the streets and insist that I have to be the one to adopt the pathetic thing because your father and sister are both allergic, then I give it one name and you give it another." He shook his head. "And three," his ring finger joined the other two in pointing up to the heavens, "You pushed me into the koi pond for no reason whatsoever I may add," he gave her an annoyed frown. "There are your other one and a half points."

She stared at him. "You're still bitter about the pond?"

He snorted, something he would have never done with someone other than her, even Gai, Lee, or Tenten, and nodded. "It wounds a man's pride to be pushed into the water of such a place and then having to walk through the village with the worst wedgie that you have ever had and think about the fact Gai is my sensei. Then there is your sister who laughs her head off when she spots me and then your father looked at me as if I did not know how to properly take care of myself and then there is the stupid, pitiable cat over there who wanted to snuggle but hates anything having to do with water touching her that forces you to change your clothing and it is laundry day so you are forced to wear some of the most undignified clothing known to man."

Hinata's eyes had widened considerably since he started his tale and she gave a small gasp. "You wore a green jumpsuit?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Good thing my mother brought in fresh clothing not long after but it was still the most unpleasant thing I have ever done and if you ever force me to do anything like that again, I will throw you into the koi pond and make you dress in that horrid spandex suit and maybe even parade through the village streets." He shook his head. "What type of magazine is that, anyway?"

Her face went bright read and she quickly snapped it shut and slid it under her stomach. "Nothing," she said casually. "What's your scroll about?"

Her response made him frown. Obviously it was something she didn't want him to know about. He reached over to grab the disputed reading materials but he only succeeded in tickling her stomach as she rolled away, deftly sliding the magazine under her as she went. He no longer cared about the gaudily colored paper anymore though. A new plan had formed in his mind and he quickly put it into play.

He lunged after her and caught her ankle. With a devious grin he pinned her in place and started tickling her sides. Her eyes widened in surprise when he caught her but then they clouded as she fought back laughter.

"Neji," she giggled. "Stop, you know I'm ticklish!"

"Exactly," he whispered in her ear. "It is punishment. Now we are even," he stopped tickling her sides and pulled back. "Or do you want more because you are a secret masochist?"

She stuck her tongue out at him and shook her head. "That's you," she whispered with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Me?" He repeated as he leaned closer to her. "Why ever would you say a thing like that?"

"Because you keep denying that you want to kiss me," she replied. "Don't deny it."

"You are very sure of yourself," he said as he brushed his fingers over her delicate lips. "I did not know you could read minds."

"It is a special talent of mine," she said as she reached up to cup his cheek then she moved it so it was entwined with his hair and resting on his neck. "I swear if you do not kiss me now I shall become more insane."

"At least you are aware of the fact you suffer from mental instability," Neji smiled as he leaned down and gently brushed his lips against hers. He pulled back and saw the frustration in her white-lavender orbs before she pulled him back down and crushed his lips against hers. Neji could feel Hinata's urgency in the kiss and her veiled desire and then it was over. She was lying under him with thoroughly tussled hair and a wild look in her pale eyes.

He slowly pulled away from her, still staring into her eyes. "Now we are even," she said, pulling herself into a sitting position.

A slow smile came to his lips as he held up a gaudy pink magazine. "Glamour girl?" He read the title then skimmed what else was written on the cover. "How to catch your 'one true love,' finding the 'perfect' guy in today's world, do guys really only think about the 'bedroom?'" He glanced over at her to see her face had gone bright red.

"I got it from Ino," she said, not making eye contact.

"And why would that overly ridiculously crazy girl think you would need with a magazine like this?" He questioned.

"I asked her for it," she said, turning up her nose at him. "It is really none of your business what I read," she declared.

"If you say so," he shook his head as he stared at the picture of a woman that had to have been put together with clips of several different women since no one woman was that perfect. Well, maybe there was one…

His thought was cut short as he found himself lying flat on his back staring up into Hinata's cherub face and he realized what had happened.

"Very nice," he commented. "Your Kaiten was almost flawless."

"Almost," she said with a raised brow.

"You landed on top of me."

"It was intentional," she smiled as she leaned down and he thought she was going to kiss him but she merely bumped her nose against his. She pulled back and stood, holding up the magazine she had retrieved from his grasp. "You know what the magazine says about guys like you?"

He raised an eyebrow as he sat up and straightened his clothes and hair. "No."

"You have no imagination," she shook her head. "It says that guys like you are the best types of boyfriends because you are so unpredictable," she winked at him and spun on her heal and was out the door before he could comment.

"Best boyfriends, huh?" A slow smile came across his face. "We shall have to see."


	6. Hanami

Hanami

Author: LonelyWriter42

Summary: The torment of Hinata's kiss is made worse by _sakura_ viewing and _wabi-sabi._

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, Neji and Hinata would already be married and have ten kids.

Standing in the middle of a bunch of giggling, gossiping women was not how Neji would have planned his day to go but there he was, standing under the blooming _sakura_ trees following Hinata around as the _hanami_ ceremony continued. The clear spring day had started out much like every other day of his life had started, he got up, he did stretching exercises, he meditated, and he showered and then ate breakfast with his mother. After that Gai, Lee, and Tenten had shown up and taken him to the training ground where he had unceremoniously defeated Lee once again then he had gone home for lunch, where his day started to get tricky.

He should have known from the start that something was going on when his mother told him that he had been summoned by his uncle and that he was supposed to clear his afternoon for whatever Hiashi wanted him for. Upon entering the main house he was greeted by the scary duo of Hanabi and her friend whose name escaped him and their creepy smiles. Hanabi had informed him that he was to go into his uncle's study and report to the man then meet her back in the foyer.

He had done as his cousin told him and when his uncle smiled brightly upon seeing his nephew Neji knew his day was going to go bad. He had detached himself from emotions then because he knew if he didn't he would end up thoroughly frustrated with everyone and thing and might start punching people he didn't know. Hiashi's order hadn't been as bad as it could have been he realized but it was still nothing close to what he thought he would be doing when he woke that morning.

The _sakura_ trees surrounding the _Nakano_ River were in full bloom and Hinata and Hanabi wished go and view them, Hiashi had said, and Neji would accompany them to make sure nothing happened to them. He had agreed but he had not realized that every female in _Konoha_ was going to be there. With a sigh he listened to the pesky blonde on his right jabber on and on how pretty the pink blossoms were and how she wished that one day she would be married under the rain of sweet smelling petals.

Hinata was only a few feet away but it felt as if a thousand miles were between them. That afternoon two weeks ago had left him confused to her feeling since she had pushed him away again and acted as if nothing had happened. Lee had been on the receiving end of his anger after that and had tried in vain to figure out what was wrong with his friend. Tenten had then become involved but he refused to tell either because he knew they would think it weird to be in a relationship with a cousin, and maybe they were right, but damn it all he wanted to grab Hinata and force her to make up her mind one way or the other.

Ino moved in the way of his line of vision and he pushed forward so he was behind his cousin again. Sakura who was standing a few feet away was watching him intently and when he sent her a glare she smiled back. He suppressed a sigh. Had he been acting so transparently all day that the pink haired kunoichi had noticed his distraction when it came to Hinata? He certainly hoped not and if it was true... He didn't want to think about that possibility. But if she had it would all be Hinata's fault for being so damn indecisive in the first place. He was clenching his hand into a fist when he realized he had been arguing circles in his own mind. Surely that counted as mentally unbalanced and he should check himself into Konoha Hospital as soon as possible but he wasn't going to, at least not until he had forced a reasonable answer out of Hinata.

The hostess, some cranky old lady with a sour expression like she had been sucking on lemons, turned and glared at him when he tried to push his way back next to his cousin. He didn't care though. Hiashi-sama had instructed Neji to watch over his two cousins and he was going to do just that, little old ladies notwithstanding. His train of thought abruptly crashed when Hinata placed her hand on his arm to calm him. He glanced down at her and she smiled up at him before moving away. His arm felt as if it was on fire and he noticed that that damned Sakura was watching him and smiling at him. He took a step back and allowed the women stream around him so they could look at the trees.

For the rest of the afternoon he stared at his cousin's back from the very end of the line of women wondering just how she had managed to get inside his head like that. The only other person who was able to access his emotions so easily like that was his mother and even she had a hard time making him open up. He shot the back of Hinata's head a glare as he continued brooding over his responses to Hinata's actions. Sure she had kissed him, but he had kissed other girls before and never felt like his world was thrown unceremoniously into chaos.

Near the end of the _Hanami_ he finally had the epiphany that he was the one driving himself crazy over the whole kiss business and Hinata hadn't given that kiss a second thought. But that realization made him feel even worse and his old grumpiness with Hinata came to the surface. He had managed to get both his cousins back inside the Hyūga compound and had followed Hinata back to her room before he allowed his anger to get the best of him.

Hinata had tried to close the door to her room but he pushed past her. He turned his best glare on her and said in his harshest voice, "Why do you keep tormenting me?" He paused only for a second when he realized those were not the words he had wanted to come out of his mouth but he plowed ahead anyway. "Do you think that I am some sort of plaything?" Again he paused when he realized his words made no sense with the point he was trying to get at and by the look on his cousin's face, she had no idea what he was saying, either.

"Nii-san," she started with a frown but he cut her off.

"Every day I get up and wonder what new hell that you and the main house had invented for me to go through today and I must congratulate you, you have come up with the worst one possible," his eyebrow twitched and he could feel that vein in his forehead that started pulsing when he was angry growing larger. To Hinata's defense she still looked completely perplexed and had started chewing on her bottom lip as she contemplated his words.

"I am not sure what it is that has you so up in arms, Nii-san," she said in a faint voice, "But I shall try my hardest not to upset you anymore. Please excuse me," she whispered as she rushed passed him and out the door.

Neji was left just as perplexed as she had been at the start of the conversation until he thought back over his words. Then he started to mentally kick himself. Poor innocent Hinata had no idea why he had said those things to her, it had been his overly hyped up state of mind that had caused him to say those things to her without an explanation as to why he was angry with her. He felt his eyebrow twitch again. She was driving him crazy without even knowing what she was doing.

He rubbed his hand wearily over his face and groaned. He always knew that the main house had set out to drive him crazy and they had successfully deployed their greatest weapon without him ever suspecting it.


	7. Confusion

Confusion

Author: LonelyWriter42

Summary: Hinata is confused as to why Neji yelled at her after the _hanami_, and Neji is confused by Hinata's new behavior.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

...

Hinata scurried down the hall and slipped into the closet at the end. She had just managed to close the door before she heard Neji's footsteps come past. He obviously paused at the door but clearly thought better of her hiding in a broom closet and walked onward. She had no idea what was wrong with him. They had actually been getting along and he had even... She blushed. Every time she thought about his kissing her face went bright red. It wasn't that she didn't like it, it was just embarrassing.

She had never been kissed by a boy before; she had always thought Naruto would be the first to kiss her. She blushed again. She hadn't thought about Naruto for a long time in that context. He had been back in the village for almost a year and she rarely saw him. Even when she had foolishly tried to tell him of her feelings for him he had brushed her off. Then Neji had been there, calmly walking by her side as she tried to sort out everything. She knew she wasn't in love with her cousin and she didn't have a crush on him but they did have a relationship that was deeper than cousins.

She had been slightly offended when her father had decided that suddenly Neji needed to follow her around the village every time she left the compound but she could understand her father's feelings as well. In his own, twisted way Hiashi loved his older daughter but more often than not he was disappointed in her ninjutsu. She worked hard to conquer the Jūken and become the ninja her father wanted her to be but it was often such a burden that her shoulders couldn't hold it up.

She pressed her ear to the door and listened to see if anyone was around. She didn't dare activate her Byakugan in the compound as most of the clan could sense the chakra and would berate her for spying on them. When she didn't hear anyone she made her way quickly back to her room. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw it was empty. She had been worried that Neji might be there and ready to start up their argument again.

She wondered why he thought she was playing with him. She was only ever honest in her feelings. She frowned and went to where she had hidden the magazine Ino had given her. Maybe it would have some clues to what was going on. She knew she had teased Neji mercilessly about being a bad boy and therefore good boyfriend material but that couldn't be the source of his frustration, could it? The magazine had said to do that.

She pressed her lips together. Maybe there was something else in the magazine that could help her. She flipped open the front cover and started skimming all the articles but not one told her how to deal with cranky male angst. She finally shook her head and stood up. She had been warned not to sneak out of the compound without an escort but she didn't want anyone to be privy to the conversation she wanted to have.

It had gotten extremely warm in the past few weeks and she found herself wishing she had worn a lighter kimono. Not that she had to wear the highly formal outfit she just felt better when she had he silky material against her skin. That didn't keep her from nearly passing out from the heat before she made it to Yamanaka flower shop and the blissful air-conditioning.

It was her luck that Ino was the one behind the counter, reading a magazine much like the one Hinata had been only twenty minutes before.

"Hinata-chan!" Ino exclaimed. "Let me guess, you have come to save me from dying of boredom!"

Hinata let out a soft laugh. "Sorry, Ino-chan. I actually," she glanced around and moved closer to the counter. "Came to ask you for advice."

Ino raised an eyebrow. "Alright, fire away."

"Well," Hinata bit her lip and started twirling her index fingers around each other. "You are very knowledgeable on the subject, of, of, of," she winced.

"The subject of? What?" Ino rolled her eyes. "I can't help you if you stutter."

"Boys," Hinata said in such a low voice she was sure Ino wouldn't be able to understand her.

"Did you just say b-o-y-s? Hinata, you are growing up! I am so proud of you!" Ino squealed as she jumped over the counter and hugged Hinata tight. "What is it you want to know? I'll tell you everything. In excruciating detail if you want me to."

"Um," Hinata moaned, her cheeks flaming bright red. "Ino-chan," she moaned.

"Sorry, I forgot," Ino shook her head. "Anyway, what is it you want to know?"

"Why are they so moody? Why do they act like they do? What is the point?" Hinata sighed.

"They are such _girls_, that's why. They think they have to be all macho around girls but in truth they are such emotional _wrecks_. I'm not sure how they manage to survive."

"Do you know why one might act all nice and then suddenly start yelling at you? I just don't understand what happened. I thought we were getting along better," Hinata frowned.

"It's Neji you're talking about, isn't it? I have noticed that the two of you have been going out more together. What does you clan think of that? Is there any problems with the two branch thing?" Ino studied her friend's face.

"No, he's my protector. He is _supposed_ to be permanently attached to my side. We have been getting along but earlier today he sudden blew up on me and started yelling about how the Main house has released their ultimate weapon to drive him insane. I have no idea what he's talking about! Our relationship has gotten better, yes, but what the heck is he talking about? Usually all we ever do is small talk, nothing important yet he seems to think that I'm trying to drive him crazy! Maybe he's trying to drive _me_ crazy."

"Hinata, what type of small talk do you do?"

The Hyūga Heiress shrugged. "We talk about his cat. You know he has an orange kitten? It's name is Hinagiku. I wish I could have a cat," she sighed.

"Maybe the two of you should figure out something the two of you enjoy and then spend the afternoon doing it. I don't know, maybe you can play shogi with him or something," Ino said.

"We already usually train in the afternoon," Hinata sighed.

"Hm, well, we're just going to have to come up with a better plan," Ino muttered.

...

Neji stood next to the target where he had thrown twenty-four of twenty-five kunai directly through the small white circle. The twenty-fifth was causing him frustration though. It had gone way wide and had ended up imbedded in a tree thirty yards away. He was worried that a tree _kami_ might appear and beat him up. He had never missed like that before. He couldn't even start to fathom how badly he had misjudged the distance and his aim. It wasn't like him. He didn't even have an excuse.

He scowled at the kunai then walked over to the tree and yanked it out. "Stupid kunai," he said as he flicked it away. At that moment something in his peripheral vision caught his attention so he didn't see the kunai landing exactly where he had wanted it to begin with.

A vision in white was walking toward him. The person came closer and Neji saw it was Hinata wearing a beautiful white kimono, holding Hinagiku in her arms. He drew in a quick breath as he watched her unbound hair flutter around her head in little wisps of indigo. She looked up from the cat for a second and saw he was watching her. She blushed but held his gaze until she was standing next to him.

"Hinata-sama," he said in a hoarse whisper.

"Nii-san," she grinned. The blush was still there but she had a daring look in her eyes that he had never seen before. She closed her eyes, her long dark lashes brushing against her cheeks.

He swallowed hard. "Hinata-sama, I am sorry for yelling at you earlier. It was not my intention…" He was cut off by her finger pressing gently against his lips.

"Shh, it does not matter anymore," she gave him a soft smile. "I forgive you, Nii-san."

"Hinata-sama," he sighed. He was happy she was such an astute person or he might have had to deal with an angry woman for months. "Why do you have Hinagiku?" He asked as he gently scratched the cat behind it's ears.

"We wanted to go to the koi pond for a walk but someone was missing and we had to find him, didn't we Hinagiku," she cooed at the kitten. She glanced back up at him shyly. Before he could discern her intentions she had stood up on tiptoe and gently kissed him on the cheek.

He stared blankly at her as she pulled back. "Hinata-sama," he whispered her name, not sure what to think.

"Well, are you coming?" She called to him and he realized she had already started across the clearing.

"Yes, Hinata-sama," he chuckled. If anyone had seen him in that moment they would have commented on how his younger cousin had him wrapped around her little finger but luckily only the kunai were witnesses and they would never tell.


	8. Lucky

Lucky

Author: LonelyWriter42

Summary: Hinagiku needs a playmate…

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did it would be called NejiHina Extraordinaire and they would be the only two characters. They would also have fifteen children.

...

People in the village always commented on how lucky Neji Hyūga was. He was the prodigy of the eldest clan in the village, a true inheritor of the Will of Fire. If only they knew…

Neji sat in the booth, watching Gai and Lee having the most ridiculous eating contest he had ever heard of. He couldn't even begin to describe the rules if someone asked him because for starters he couldn't remember half of them-the list was _that_ long-and he really didn't _care_ enough to try.

Tenten was sitting next to him also appalled by her sensei and teammate. "I didn't think that was possible," she whispered to Neji.

"Around these two _anything_ is possible," Neji said with an annoyed expression on his face. He had often thought that Gai and Lee were his own personal obstacles he had to overcome on his quest to be a ninja but this… This was ridiculous. How could consuming as much food as possible in a matter of seconds ever come in handy, ever? He couldn't even begin to think of reasons this new 'training' could ever help Lee. Ever. "Once again I have no idea why they are acting like this," he sighed.

"This time I have to wholeheartedly agree," Tenten shuddered. "What's the point?"

"There is none, obviously," Neji shook his head as he stood up. "I shall be departing, then."

"I'm coming," Tenten jumped up and followed him to the door. Gai and Lee didn't even seem to realize that Neji and Tenten had left; they were off in their own little world. "What are we going to do now?" Tenten asked as they started down the road.

Neji gave her a longsuffering look. "I will be returning to the compound."

Tenten nodded thoughtfully. "Hey," she said, pointing. "Isn't that Hinata?"

Neji turned his head sharply and saw the small figure huddled beside the road. "I do believe it is," he said dryly as he made a beeline toward her. Tenten gave a giggle and followed.

"Hinata-sama," Neji moaned when he came to a stop next to her. "What have you done now?"

His cousin winced. "Well, Nii-san, I kinda…" She trailed off and refused to meet his gaze.

"Neji, you don't have to be so mean," Tenten rolled her eyes. "What do you have, Hinata-san?"

Hinata blushed. "Well," she turned redder if that was possible, "I didn't mean to, Nii-san!"

"Do I even want to know?" Neji started messaging his temples. He liked his cousin. He liked his cousin. He liked… Was that a meow? His eyes darted to meet hers and she shrugged apologetically as she produced another ball of fur and bad temper much like the one she had already dumped on him.

"Oh no," he growled. "I am _not_ going to give another one of your pathetic pets a home."

"But Nii-san," she said, sticking out her lip in that pout that always got her her way. "It's cute."

His eye twitched. "That thing is _not_ cute. It is quite _ugly_."

"That's because it hasn't had much love," she said as she smoothed down flyaway fur. "It needs a bath and a combing and then it will be as beautiful as Hinagiku."

"I must point out that the last time you tried to give Hinagiku a bath she bit you and you came crying to me because you always dump her back on me when she does something you do not like. I am not an animal rescue center."

Hinata blinked several times before she went for the big guns. Two fat tears led the way in the onslaught that always left him defenseless. "You are so _mean_, Nii-san!" She cried as she jumped up and ran away with the pathetic beast still in her arms.

"Where are you going? You can't take that thing home," he called after her.

"Neji, I thought you were trying to be nicer to her," Tenten frowned at him.

Neji released an exasperated sigh before nodding. "I shall see you tomorrow, bright and early."

"Always," Tenten nodded and raised her hand to wave as he turned on his heal and followed his cousin.

...

Neji found her next to the koi pond. Why was it she always ended up next to the koi pond? "Hinata," he sighed as he sat down next to her. "You are aware that you are sixteen now and crying will not get you your way much longer."

She gave him a dark glare. She continued stroking the cat's fur but didn't say anything.

"Are you going to give me the silent treatment now?" He reached over and scratched the cat's ears. He was reworded with a loud purr.

"It won't work," he said thoughtfully as he continued to stroke the cat's head. "Because in the end I always win," he whispered in her ear as he carefully carelessly reached down and started tickling her stomach.

Her eyes flared open and she tried to glare at him but it was all for naught; he already had gotten past her defenses.

"Nii-san!" She shrieked as he tackled her and pushed her flat against the ground. She tried to retaliate and even managed to brush her fingers against the ticklish skin of his stomach but that was as far as she got. He caught and pinned both of her hands above her head and gave her a triumphant grin.

She gave him a cool, calculating look. "Nii-san," she whispered in his ear. "You forgot my legs." He was still processing her words as he was flipped over. He still had a free hand but he wasn't thinking about escaping at that moment. In fact he liked his new position. Hinata had both of her hands holding his down so her long indigo hair brushed against his cheeks. Her knees were pressing against his hips. "Nii-san," she sighed as she pressed her forehead to his. "Please?"

His mouth dropped open. She had him in a _very_ compromising position and all she wanted was him to take care of another stray cat? "Maybe," he said with a suddenly devious look, "I can if you are willing to give me something…"

"What?" Her thin eyebrows drew together as she considered what he might want from her.

He rolled his eyes at her naivety before gently placing his hand on the back of her neck and pulling her head down for a kiss. She allowed him to explore her mouth to a point; when his tongue tried to enter her mouth she jerked back. He instantly started berating himself.

"So, are you going to keep it?" Hinata whispered.

"Of course," he answered automatically. "What are you going to name it?"

A devious smile came to her lips. "Nejibana."

Maybe he was lucky, after all.


	9. Yessiree

Yessiree

Author: LonelyWriter42

Summary: Yessiree bob that is what happens when two cats of opposite genders live together…

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did it would be called NejiHina. (Or Kakashi…)

…

Neji sat crossed legged in the middle of his bed, staring at the two cats that seemed to believe that it was _their_ bed now that Hinata had so kindly forced her adopted pets on him. He watched in amusement as Hinagiku nipped at Nejibana's ear, telling the other cat it was in _her_ space. Neji was still shaking his head over the names Hinata had come up with for the cats. While they both _lived_ with him, he really had no say in their names or just about anything else relating to them.

Hinata even insisted on buying all their cat food and litter. Not that he was complaining about her removing that expense from raising the cats, he just wished he actually felt like he _owned_ them. Hinagiku, with her unparalleled sense that he felt less than loved, decided to plop down in the circle his legs were making. He raised an eyebrow at the cat, wondering what it was thinking. Cats-and other animals-could be taught to speak but it was a long process and the person doing the teaching had to understand at least the basics of the animal's speech. Neji knew nothing about the cat language other than the hisses and growls that kept him up into the late hours of the night.

"You're getting fat," he commented to the cat as he picked her up and placed her back beside her sister. "Hinata must be feeding you too much," he said in a loud voice since he could feel her presence outside his door.

"I am not," she huffed as she entered the room and set a bag down. He eyed it wearily.

"What did you buy _this_ time," he sighed. "You know my room can only hold so much cat stuff before _I_ run out of space. It is _my_ room after all."

"Oh hush," she murmured as she picked up Hinagiku. "You can get a bigger room."

"Yeah, in the barracks. I don't know about you but I'd rather not live with twenty other guys," he snorted.

"Oh, you could live in the main house if you wanted to," she sighed. "You're right. Hinagiku is getting _fat_."

"You doubted me?" He raise his eyebrow in the manner that always made her scowl at him but this time she missed it because she was so concerned about that stupid cat.

"I'm worried," she said, poking the cat's stomach. "It feels lumpy."

He frowned and placed his hand on the cat's stomach. It did indeed feel lumpy. "What do you think?"

"We need to take her to the vet," Hinata said, going to what used to be his closet but was now a shrine to her cats. She pulled out the pink cat carrier he had told her _not_ to buy and came back over to him. She knelt and gently forced the cat into it. "Are you coming?"

"Like hell I'm coming. That cat, whether it be yours or not, lives with _me_. And I know you so I know that you will be _extremely_ upset if something happened to it on my watch. I have to go along to make sure it survives."

She wrinkled her nose but didn't say anything as she turned and marched out the door. They made it out of the compound without anyone seeing them and asking about the carrier. By the time Neji stopped worrying about being seen with that stupid pink carrier he realized they were going in the complete opposite direction than the way to the vet he took the cats to. He was about to open his mouth to say that when he realized that they were close to the Inuzuka district and that her teammate's sister was a vet.

Hinata marched into the office and brushed past the secretary who didn't look to happy about the situation. Neji shrugged at her before following Hinata.

"Hana-san," he heard her say as he rounded the corner and entered the examination room. "My cat, Hinagiku has recently gained a lot of weight and her stomach is all lumpy. Do you have any idea what could be wrong with her?"

Hana Inuzuka raised an eyebrow and pulled the protesting Hinagiku out of the carrier. "Nice carrier," she commented as she stroked the cat's fur.

Hinata blushed slightly. "Thanks."

Neji rolled his eyes. Only two females could talk about pink cat carriers like guys talked about the weather. "What do you think is wrong?" Neji repeated Hinata's question.

Hana turned to him and blinked. "Neji Hyūga," she said thoughtfully. "Why are you here?"

"Neji takes care of Hinagiku for me," Hinata said anxiously. "Please, what is wrong with her?"

Hana was still studying Neji thoughtfully as she placed Hinagiku on the examination table. "It's obvious. She's pregnant."

Neji blinked several times, trying his hardest to process that information. Pregnant? What did that mean again? Babies? He didn't want the stupid cat to have _babies_ because then _he_ would have to put up with them, too.

"Kittens!" Hinata shrieked. "Oh, Hinagiku! You've been keeping secrets from me," she cooed as she picked up the cat and held it close. "Who's the father?"

Neji was still trying to process the information when Hana said, "You said you have two cats. Is the other one male?"

"No," Hinata replied as she pressed her cheek against the orange fuzz ball. "It's a girl, too."

"I checked and everything," Neji muttered.

Hana shook her head. "Sometimes it is really hard to tell if the cat is a boy or not. You may think it is a girl and sometimes it even takes surgery to determine the gender of the animal."

"You think Nejibana is a boy?" Hinata gasped and looked at Neji.

"Great, just my luck," Neji muttered unhappily.

"You can bring it in and I'll check everything out," Hana offered.

"Can you also make sure that the little angel of a cat can never have any surprises again?" Neji asked dryly.

"Of course," Hana nodded. "Be extra gentle with her from now on. I estimate that the kittens will be born in about three weeks. Bring her back in a week's time and I'll do an ultrasound to make sure everything is fine. I'm booked up until then."

Hinata gentle pushed Hinagiku back in the carrier and Neji followed her out of the building in a daze.

"I suppose you want to keep the little monsters, too," he muttered.

"Of course," Hinata said. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Because I am already caring for two cats. I don't want to deal with whoever knows how many more."

"But Nii-san," she said sadly, "How could you refuse the cuteness of the kittens?"

"Kittens might be cute but they grow up to become _cats_. Then they start having babies and then it all starts again. Before you know it I could have a _hundred_ living with me and you would still insist that I take in more."

Hinata pressed her lips together. "Nii-san?" she said softly.

"What?" Neji glared at her.

She smiled and stood up on her tippy toes and gently kissed his cheek. "We should keep the kittens."

"Fine," he growled. "We will keep the kittens."


	10. Confession

Confession

Author: LonelyWriter42

Summary: Neji has a confession to make…

Disclaimer: No owning of the Naruto do I.

…

Hinata sat on Neji's bed, cradling the two week old kitten in her hands. Hinagiku was hovering over her nervously but was letting her hold the baby. The kitten's fur was cream and grey, a mixture of the colors of Hinagiku and Kyo (who had once been called Nejibana but Hinata changed his name because Nejibana was a very girly name).

The kitten's fur was so soft and Hinata was sure she had never touched anything softer. The other two kittens in Hinagiku's litter were both fast asleep in the box Neji had lined with soft blankets for the occasion. She had struggled over what to name the kittens and Neji had been no help whatsoever. Finally she had named them based on their colors. One was orange like Hinagiku so it was called Oranji, the second was grey and called Hai and the third was cream and grey, she called it Kurimu. Neji had rolled his eyes when he had heard their names but accepted them because he didn't want to argue with his silly cousin or so he had said.

She knew it was because he didn't want to have to come up with names because she would probably change them anyway. She rolled her eyes as she set the kitten back in its bed. Neji hasn't been terribly excited that Hinagiku had kittens and had been trying to convince her that they should give them away. He had told her that his teammate Tenten would be more than willing to take in one of the kittens but she was still unsure about separating the siblings. She really didn't know Tenten well enough to know if she would treat her kitten well and beside, Neji had already told her she could keep the kittens.

She was giggling over how Hinagiku was curling around her children when Neji walked into the room with a saucer of cream. He raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

"Why are you laughing at her? She can sit any way she wants," he commented as he set the saucer down.

"I was amused by the fact she had to circle around five times before pulling the three together so she could have them cuddled against her," Hinata said.

He tried and failed to stop his eyes from rolling. "She is a mother now. Of course she is going to worry about her babies every minute of every day."

"Then why are you trying to convince me that we should give the kittens away?" Hinata questioned.

His expression soured. "Because I am not an animal rescue home. I have informed you of this several times in the last month. Or did you forget?"

"But it isn't like there are fifty of them," Hinata said. "There are only five."

"Yes, and soon Hinagiku in all her reproductive glory will be able to have another litter. I do not think that she will have any problem with having more kittens, even if I tell her not to."

Her eyes narrowed. "For Hinagiku not to have more kittens we would have to get rid of Kyo or Hinagiku. You are _not_ getting rid of my cats."

"What about Kurimu? She's a girl with two brothers. She'll be old enough to have babies soon enough," he muttered.

"Ew! That's gross, Nii-san. Kurimu wouldn't have children with her brothers; that's just gross."

Neji eyebrows drew together. "I'll be back later," he muttered as he turned and walked out the door."

"Neji?" Hinata called after him but he didn't respond. She frowned, trying to figure out what his problem could be but came up blank. She hadn't said anything out of the ordinary; at least she didn't _think_ so.

…

Hinata finally found him three hours later at the training ground closest to the Forest of Death. She had decided that sitting around his room waiting for him to return and explain his actions was boring so she went looking for him. That had been two hours ago. She had known that there were plenty of places for one to hide in Konoha if one wanted to but this was almost ridiculous. If he had been playing hide-and-seek, he would have won.

She plopped down next to him without saying a word. His eyes were closed and his hands were folded on his lap telling her that he was trying to meditate but she really wanted answers. He had been acting very strange lately.

"So," she said, plucking a piece of grass off the ground and twirling it between her thumb and forefinger. "What was that about in your bedroom? You left so abruptly and never returned. I was worried that your mother might start getting the wrong idea about me if she found me in there without you."

"Yes, my mother already believes me to be deranged angsty teenager so having you on my bed like a new sex toy wouldn't worry her at all," Neji didn't open his eyes but Hinata knew he was teasing her without looking into them. His slight smirk gave him away.

"Your mother doesn't think you are deranged, Nii-san," she sighed as she flung the grass away and pulled her knees to her chest. "Just haughty."

Neji opened his eyes and scowled at her. "Hinata," he said warningly.

She shrugged and raised her face to the sky. "The clouds are pretty today."

"If you wanted to talk about the weather, there is a certain Nara idiot that would be more than willing to discuss it with you," Neji growled.

"I don't want to discuss the weather but you are being standoffish so I thought I might break the ice. Why are you really acting this way, Nii-san?"

"This is the way I act. I thought you knew that already."

"No, something is bothering you," she said thoughtfully as she leaned closer to his face. "You had better tell me before you get all worked up over it and start spewing swear words at me like you did the last time."

"I am not mad like I was then. I am merely contemplating."

"Contemplating," she stuck out her tongue. "You are upset and don't want anyone to know. I do know you better than you think."

He clamped his mouth shut and narrowed his eyes at her. "What are you know? A mind reader?"

"No, I am merely able to pick up on your moods," she gave him that innocent look that always threatened to drive him crazy with want. "You are kind of easy to read you know."

"What you said earlier," he said hesitantly then growled at himself. He wasn't hesitant about anything, _ever_. So why was saying what was on his mind so hard? "About Kurimu and Hai and Oranji," he stopped speaking and glared at the tree ahead of him. "Is it really that gross?"

"Of course," she replied. "They're siblings."

"Do you think I am gross?" He asked softly.

"No," she shook her head. "Why would I?"

"Because, I am," he broke off again, wanting to say everything perfectly. "Because I am your Nii-san, am I not?"

"Yes," she gave him a confused look.

"Even though we are cousins, our DNA is more closely linked because of our father's being twins. Even though we are cousins, I, I, I feel things that I shouldn't," he finished so he wouldn't have to admit that he had fallen in love with a woman who was technically his half-sister.

"You're not making much sense, Neji," Hinata sighed. "Why are you talking about DNA?"

"Hinata, do you believe that two people are placed on this earth to find each other, to love one another?"

"Yes. I believe that everyone has a soul mate," she gave him a small smile.

"Do you think," he trailed off again, staring at the sky. "Do you think that it is possible to know your soul mate when you see them for the first time?"

"Of course," she smiled.

"Even if you are only four-years-old?"

"Especially when you are four," she took his hand in her own. "Children have purer emotions, don't you think? They don't know about worldly disappointments yet, they only know unadulterated love."

"Do you think you could love me?" His voice was a whisper but to her it was pure music.

"I think that I have always loved you, Neji," she gave him an encouraging smile.

"So," he let out his breath, "Hinata, will you be my girlfriend?"

"Yes," she giggled.


	11. Cat Burglar

Cat Burglar

Author: LonelyWriter42

Summary: Kittens are notorious for getting themselves into trouble.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto; if I did Neji would become the local neighborhood creepy cat lady.

…

Neji was crouched down next to his bed, glaring at a hissing Hinagiku. Never in a million years would he have ever thought that he would ever be doing something so strange as glaring at a cat but there he was and he blamed his indigo haired cousin for everything.

"Hinagiku," he growled warningly but she didn't get the hint and in fact the fur of her tail somehow became even puffier. He glanced under his bed where his hitai-ate had become a nest for the three kittens he was being forced to take care of. "Now listen here, cat," he growled, "That is _my_ hitai-ate, that _I_ need so _I_ can go _out_! Those fluff balls you call your children do _not_ need it."

Hinagiku didn't seem to get what he was saying or chose to ignore it because she opened her mouth wider and let out a vicious sounding hiss.

"Oh, so you want to play dirty," Neji muttered. "I can play dirty. I can lock you outside tonight."

Hinagiku's ears flattened against her head and she lunged forward, sinking her fangs into the soft skin of his hand.

"You _bit_ me," he said in shock as she retreated under the bed. "I thought that an animal won't bite the hand that feeds." He reached under the bed and grabbed her tail with the intent of throwing her out of his room when something else started biting at his ankles. "Gah!" He roared, spinning and grabbing Kyo. "Why is the whole world _conspiring_ against me today?"

Three pathetic meows came from under the bed and he winced. "Reminding me to skin Hinata later, are you?" he muttered as he stood up. He grabbed some bandages and started wrapping them around his forehead. "Fine," he muttered under his breath as he exited his room. He shut the door with a slam, stopping Kyo from dashing out after him. "Stay in there all day for all I care."

…

"But why can't I see them?" Hinata asked, running her pointer finger over his cheek in a circular motion. "They are mine, you know."

Neji looked up at her and gave her the glare that usually had Gai and Lee running for their lives, only, with her it induced _giggles_. "Because they are being punished."

"Why are you punishing them?" She shifted slightly so she was snuggled up against him more tightly. "They are only cats."

He scowled, knowing what she was trying to do. "They are being punished because they have taken to thievery."

"They are cats," she repeated, shifting again so she could kiss him. "Please?"

"Trying to bribe me?" He questioned, knowing she would win.

"Maybe," she giggled as she kissed him again.

With a groan he sat up and gently pushed her away. What had started out as a simple walk with her had turned into a heavy make-out session that he was still trying to sort out in his brain. He didn't know when she had gotten so bold. Or when he had for that matter. Usually he didn't like to institute physical contact and was usually wary of it but with Hinata he didn't mind. The realization that he could love someone other than himself with such a passion scared him sometimes if he thought about it for too long; but right then all he cared about was her slender arms wrapped around his waist.

"They stole my hitai-ate," he muttered.

"They like it because it smells like you," she replied.

He frowned at that. "You know, I've been missing other things lately. A sock, some of my bandages, that hat thing my mother gave me when I was eleven which is atrocious…"

"It sounds like you have a cat burglar on your hands," she giggled as she sat up. "Or kitten burglars."

"I think it is only one of them," he said with a growl. "I know which one it is too. C'mon, I suddenly feel like strangling a cat or two."

"Neji," she moaned as he jumped to his feet and started off down the road. "You wouldn't kill _my _cats, would you?"

…

"This is what she has been doing all morning," Neji informed Hinata as she sat down next to his bed and slowly extracted Hinagiku from under it. The cat was hissing and sputtering at her but Hinata with gentle touches and soft words had the cat purring on her lap a minute later.

"You are a miracle worker aren't you?" Neji asked in a perplexed voice.

"No, they are just my animals and they love me more than they love you," she said smugly.

"I'm the one that lives in the same _room_ with them. Maybe they should take my happiness into consideration when they start their hissing wars," he stuck his lower lip out to get her sympathy but she was ignoring him.

"Let's see all of what they have stolen," he said to no one as he extracted three kittens from under his bed and grabbed the bed that had been made out of his stuff. His hitai-ate he stuffed into his pocket so he could put it on later. The bandages he had been missing were on top of the pile and he threw them into the laundry bag his mother had insisted that he keep in his room so she could easily collect the laundry. The hat-thing he tossed back under the bed figuring the cats could get more use out of it than he could. Some of the other stuff in the pile was more shocking, though.

The sock he found was not the one he had been looking for but one of the expensive silk tabi he only wore for formal Hyūga occasions that required formal dress. He glared over at the things that were now crawling all over Hinata. How they had managed to get into his dresser drawers was beyond him. The tabi went into his pocket as he picked up the next item. It was one of his workout shirts that had the tear in the sleeve from where Tenten had managed a lucky blow only because he had been distracted by Gai at that moment. Since he didn't like admitting his own defeat to anyone he tossed it under the bed too.

The next article of clothing took the cake though. Somehow, the cats that never left his room, had managed to steal his mother's brassiere.

Hinata unfortunately had looked up at that moment. She raised an eyebrow and he saw a dark look enter her eyes.

"It's my mother's," he muttered as he stuffed it into the laundry bag.

"Is it really?" She carefully placed the kittens down then stood. "How am I supposed to believe that? Do you have proof?"

"You want me to go and get my mother and show her that _very_ personal article of clothing? Are you _trying_ to make me die from embarrassment?"

She raised her hand to her mouth and turned away from him. Her shoulders started shaking and he winced, knowing he was the reason for her pain.

"Hinata," he said softly, going over to her and wrapping his arms around her waist. "I'm sorry… You are laughing," he said in exasperation.

"Of course, you should have seen your face when you thought I thought that brassiere might belong to one of your female companions. It was priceless," she giggled.

"I shall now have to punish you," he whispered in her ear as he started nibbling on it causing her to shriek with laughter.

...

I was driving along today to the store and saw the funniest thing: a van with the letters AMBU painted on the side. Granted, I do believe it was an ambulance but still, I cracked up. Yep, I'm just that type of person...


	12. Whipped

Whipped

Author: LonelyWriter42

Summary: Hinata has Neji so whipped she can even get him to go to _that_ movie…

Disclaimer: No owning of the Naruto do I.

…

Neji stood outside the movie theatre nervously. He glanced very way to make sure that no one he knew had noticed him. He wished that Hinata would hurry up and get there. It was embarrassing enough to be standing awkwardly outside the building but when only one movie was playing and it was this movie…

He had considered running away and telling Hinata later that he had suddenly gotten a headache or he had been summoned to the Hokage but he knew she would check up on his story after the protest he had given last night when she had suggested that they go see this movie.

He watched as several men were dragged into the movie theatre by their girlfriends, all with self sacrificing and glazed over looks on their faces. Neji chuckled nervously to himself as he glanced down the street. He had already purchased the tickets to the movie to his undying embarrassment and all he needed now was for Hinata to get here so she could pick out snacks.

His first instinct had been to run when she had decided that she wanted to see _this_ movie but like all good boyfriends that did not want to be denied access to one of their favorite things in the world he had allowed her to bring him to this…_Monstrosity._

He had half expected there to be a man outside the theatre demanding that he hand over his man card. He had been willing to get into an argument and potentially embarrass himself with said argument but thankfully the only men he had seen were others in the same boat as him.

He almost felt sorry for those other unlucky guys since they were only doing it for the same reason Neji himself was: to make their girlfriends happy and potentially have a make out session in the movie theatre. He groaned at that thought. Hinata was so prim and proper she would never agree to make out with him in a movie theatre. He made a face. He was ready to leave his post and forget this whole silly affair when he spotted the familiar lithe body in an easy gait walking toward him.

A smile came to his lips and all thought of leaving disappeared as she slid up to his side and smiled at him. "We ready?" her grin made his heart skip a beat and he nodded.

"I have the tickets, was just waiting for you to find out what type of snack you wanted," he followed her into the theatre like a puppy, something she noted.

"Sorry I'm late," she said as she studied the board proclaiming all the junk food she could ingest. "Hanabi needed me to help her with the report she is writing."

He nodded, not caring about Hanabi. His youngest cousin could have been threatening to jump off of Hokage Monument with her hair on fire and he still probably wouldn't have cared. He didn't much like Hanabi.

"I think I just want popcorn," Hinata decided.

Neji nodded and ordered a large popcorn and a large soda for himself. Hinata grabbed a handful of napkins and they proceeded into the movie theatre. Not to his surprise it was more than half full with most of the prime seats taken. He would have preferred to sit in the back where he could have made a quick escape but Hinata had other ideas. They ended up smack dap in the middle of a row five rows too close to the screen for comfort.

As soon as they sat down Neji knew that he was not going to enjoy where they were sitting as the couple in front of them had already decided to ignore the movie that hadn't even started yet for a heavy make out session. He sneaked a glance at Hinata to see what she thought of the display in front of them but she was happily munching on the popcorn and ignoring the couple. He sighed and snuck lower into the seat. It was going to two of the worst hours of his life.

When the opening credits started to roll the couple finally decided to stop with their actions and watch the movie though Neji highly suspected that the man was doing something indecent to the woman all throughout the movie by the noises she was making. He was almost grateful to them in a way for distracting him from the movie but on the other hand if he had really wanted to see some porn he could have rented the Icha Icha movie and watched it in the privacy of his own home.

Of course Hinata didn't seem to notice any of this being fully absorbed in the movie. Neji glanced over at her again, not trying to hide the fact he was watching her and saw her eyes wide and sparkling, something that only happened when she was honestly enjoying something. After exhausting his staring contest with her ear he finally rested his head back against the seat and closed his eyes. He blocked out the dialogue by reciting all the forms of the Jūken backwards then forwards.

He felt himself drifting off and didn't stop his body from taking refuge in the blissful unconsciousness.

Somehow he managed to wake up to see the dramatic climax of the movie and had to suppress a groan at how bad it was. He was sure a two-year-old could have come up with a better plot and characters. In fact he was sure that even an inanimate object could have come up with a better plot.

He almost stood up and cheered when the credits started rolling. He was sure if he did, however, everyone else would stand and cheer as well. Only they would be cheering because they liked the movie and not his reason of being happy that it was finally over.

He was content to allow all the other people in the theatre to leave first so he wouldn't be pressed closer than he ever wanted to be with another person. He glanced over at Hinata and found her watching him with a small smile on her face.

"What?" He asked as he finally stood and stretched.

"You," her grin got wider. "You hated the movie and yet you were willing to stick it out for me."

"Well," he tried to think up something witty but failed. "Anyway," he said as he gathered their garbage. "Now what?"

She shrugged. The smile was still gracing her lips and he felt his heart start rebelling against its normal rhythm.

"Thank you," she grinned before placing a kiss on his cheek. "I know you really didn't want to be here and you only did it for me."

"You're welcome," he said.

"Besides," she said as they left the theatre, "That really wasn't that good of a movie."

He turned to her and stared. "Just wait," he growled. "I'm going to complain about it the whole walk home."

"Even though you fell asleep and only saw about ten minutes of it, tops?"

"Especially since I fell asleep," he growled.

She let out a soft laugh. "Well, then. Please tell me what you truly thought of _Twilight._"

...

Oh yeah, I went there. ;p Poor Neji.


	13. Whipped, part 2

Whipped, part 2

Author: LonelyWriter42

Summary: Hinata might have Neji whipped but he did not want all of Konoha to know that fact.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. It is as simple as that.

…

"That movie was the worst movie I have ever seen," Neji fumed. "I don't care if you liked it. It was _bad_."

Hinata laughed softly. "Tell me how you truly felt about it, Nii-san."

He turned to her and glared. "I wish to rip out my eyes and burn them. Is that descriptive enough?"

"If you ripped out your eyes then you couldn't see anymore," she slipped her hand around his arm and pressed her head to his shoulder. "That would be bad for your career."

"I've got it. That movie was produced by Ibiki in an attempt to turn the whole Ninja population into dribbling idiots."

"The female half maybe," she said as they walked past Firefly Meadow.

"So there is validity to my statements?"

"Nii-san, the female half of the population is dribbling not because it was bad but because they actually _liked_ the movie."

He glared at her. "Females are idiots. And I thought we had agreed that you would stop calling me "Nii-san". My name is Neji."

She gave him a soft smile before pulling him along into the Meadow. She held out her hand and a firefly landed on her finger tip. A delighted look came over her face and she turned to him. He swallowed hard at the look on her face. He wanted her to wear that look every day for the rest of her life. He didn't want her to ever have an expression on her face that wasn't one of pure happiness.

"Are you going to kiss me?" She asked, tilting her head to the side as she watched the bug take flight from her finger. "Or are you just going to stand there and stare at me?"

His mouth dropped open then he grinned. "I get great enjoyment from watching you," he whispered into her ear as he pulled her close. "You are so cute."

She stuck out her lower lip in a pout. "You think that I am cute? Isn't that something you say to your little sister?"

"Seeing as I do not have a little sister, I would not know. Take it as the complement it is."

She sighed heavily and pushed away from him. "I have so much work to do."

"What do you mean?" He was really confused by her words and actions. He was reminded as to why he had never wanted a girlfriend in the first place. Girls were so perplexing.

"One day," she said as she placed her hands on his cheeks, "I will teach you how to say the perfect words for flattery. Your first lesson is today and," she went up on her tip toes to kiss his nose, "Never call a girl that you want to make out with cute. It makes them feel about ten."

"And may I ask where you got this information from yourself? I know for a fact you have never had a boyfriend before."

"I have my sources," she whispered as she gently pressed her lips against his. His hands slid down to her waist and pulled her closer. Her kiss had started off gentle, like the brush of butterfly wings against his lips but he wanted more. He pulled her arms up so they were wrapped around his neck. His hands went back to her hips as he stared kissing her as if the world was going to end and this was their first and last kiss.

Finally she pulled away from him. He could see the desire in her eyes and his smirked. "Liked that, did we?"

"Neji-san," she said, allowing her hands to cup his cheeks. "You still have so much to learn if you think that making out like that is acceptable. We are in public."

"It's dark," he murmured, pressing his lips to her temple. "No one is going to see us."

She gave him a long look before she pulled back making sure that there was three feet of space between them. "I think they already have."

It was then when he became aware of the laughter. His head whipped around and he stared at Kiba and Shino. He thought he spied Lee and Gai somewhere behind them but he wasn't willing to look. He didn't want to know.

"You went and saw _that_ movie," Kiba smirked then nearly doubled over in laughter. "Hinata has you _so_ whipped."

A frown came to Neji's face. It was just like Inuzuka to have witnessed his embarrassing defeat to his girlfriend's outrageous demands. He bit his lower lip to stop himself from saying a snide before turning to Kiba. The need to be rude won, however.

"So, Dog-boy, how does it feel to have never had a girlfriend?" Neji wrapped his arm around Hinata's waist as he said this, applying pressure to her hip to tell her that he wanted to leave.

Kiba's mouth dropped open as Neji swept Hinata up into his arms and used Body Flicker to transport them to a nearby roof top.

"That was mean," Hinata sighed as she pressed her cheek to his shoulder.

"If Kiba wants to make fun of me, he can do it somewhere else."

Hinata smiled as she reached up and cupped his cheek. "Kiba's not _that_ bad. There are a lot worse things in this world of ours."

"It is not my fault that he has never had a girlfriend and it is not my place in life to have to find one for him. So please excuse my dislike of him saying things about stuff he has _no_ idea about," he let her slid out of his arms to stand on the roof next to him.

She shook her head. "So many lessons that I am going to have to teach you," she giggled. "Meet you at home."

"Wait," he called but she had already taken off. "Great. I'm going to be the laughing stock of the village tomorrow."

…

No, I do not know Hinata's thoughts on Twilight. Sometimes she can be very difficult. All I know is that she was amused by it. Whether that means she liked it or was amused at how bad it was I don't know. I do know that Neji hated it, however.

And next time Hinagiku, Kyo and their lively bunch return!


	14. Weakness

Weakness

Author: LonelyWriter

Summary: "N no, Neji-san, we m m mustn't!" "Shh, it's okay. Just take it off, and I'll follow."

Disclaimer: We all know Neji isn't that perfect.

…

"N no, Neji-san, we m m mustn't!"

"Shh, it's okay. Just take it off, and I'll follow."

**Earlier that day…**

"Come on," Hinata groaned as she pulled Neji away from the weapons store window. "We did not come out looking for weapons!"

He gave her a defeated look after one last longing glance at the newest shuriken models. "You could break a man's heart."

She scowled at him before gripping his hand more firmly and pulling him into the drug store. "We both know that you have enough shuriken to supply a small army for a month!"

"What if I needed to supply _two_ small armies?"

Her eyebrow twitched. Rather than responding she turned and walked down the aisle, searching for cat shampoo. If it hadn't been for a certain someone who hadn't read the instructions on how to properly give a cat a bath there would still be plenty of shampoo. But no. Someone had to pour it into the tub like it was bubble bath because that made so much sense. Sometimes she wondered about her cousin and how he had managed to survive this long. Maybe it was Gai and Lee's influence that caused him to think without using his brain sometimes.

She sighed. It was a good thing she had come in when she had or else her beloved cats would probably all be dead from too much soap. She had blistered his ear for what he had done and then dragged him to the drug store so she could get more shampoo to give them a proper bath. She turned the corner and went down the next aisle all the while plotting her revenge. Her father and Hanabi couldn't be around cats but if she had to she would hide them in her room.

Finally she spotted the cat shampoo and quickly studied the various bottles and settled on two; one for actual baths and one to use without water. Surely her cousin could follow the instructions that clearly stated that it was to be rubbed onto _dry_ fur. She would leave that one with him and take the other one with her so no more of these accidents happened.

She made her way to the front of the store and made her purchases. She was almost to the door when she realized that Neji wasn't around and when she turned to look for him. He was standing next to a display of class c weapons with a perplexed look on his face.

"Neji," she hissed. He turned and walked over to her shaking his head. "Those things would not stand up to any real combat," he muttered as she pulled him out of the store.

"That is because this is a civilian drug store," she sighed. "Those are probably props."

"Wait. Konoha has _civilian_ stores?" The disbelief in his voice was real enough and she groaned in frustration.

"Yes, genius," she sighed.

"Hey, I would like to point out that I never come to this side of town. I've never had to."

Hinata resisted the urge to slap her forehead. "This is an off day for you, isn't it?"

"I blame that movie you made me watch," he stuck out his tongue. "I lost all my brain cells."

She decided that his comment did not merit a response and besides, she had just noticed that he was carrying a bag as well. "What is that?" she pointed at the bag.

"Oh, this?" he held up the bag with an evil grin. "Something special for later."

Hinata felt a blush creeping over her face. Lately he had been suggesting that they take their relationship farther than a stolen kiss now and then. She suddenly didn't want to know what was in the bag.

"When we get home you will let me give the cats a bath. You will watch me do it so you know for future reference," she hissed at him.

"Okay, the more hands the better with those annoying little bugs. They aren't fond of water you know."

She rolled her eyes again and marched past the sentries stationed outside the Hyūga gates without saying hello like normal. She didn't care if they reported back to her father that something was wrong between her and Neji. Let the supposed Hyūga Genius get in trouble for once.

She marched straight to his house and didn't even greet his mother before she went into the bathroom and started filling the tub again. She quickly went into Neji's room and gathered Kyo and Hinagiku's kittens into her arms. She would let Neji get the adult cats.

She scurried into the bathroom and shut the door, dropping the three kittens into the water. They all let out pathetic meows but were trapped by her. She quickly lathered them with the shampoo and rinsed them off, all without major problems. She was shaking her head at Neji's problems as she dried them off. She never had any problems dealing with the cats. Apart from Hinagiku biting her once when she gave her a bath every other time had gone off without any problems.

She waited until the kittens were dry before she gathered them back up and carried them into Neji's room. She scowled at the occupant of the bed. "Carry Hinagiku into the bathroom. There is still water."

He raised an eyebrow before sighing and doing her bidding. She scooped up Kyo and followed him, closing the door with a resounding click.

"Put her in the water and don't let her escape," she instructed. "Get her wet and then place a small amount of shampoo into your palm and lather her up." She watched him carry out her instructions and nodded and he performed them perfectly. "Now rinse her off and then use the towel to dry her. While he did what she instructed she moved to give Kyo, the one that resisted the most to baths, his. She managed to carry out her mission and used the towel to dry the boy cat as well.

When she had deemed the two cats dry enough to be returned to his room she signaled to him to open the door as she caught them both. She set them on Neji's bed as soon as she entered the room and was going to sit down and play with them to cheer them up when she was tugged out of the room and down the hallway into the closet.

"Neji?" she asked in a confused voice.

"Shh," he pressed his finger to her lips as he listened for his mother. "I got you something," he grinned a minute later as he held up his bag from earlier.

"Neji," she blushed. "We can't."

"Says who?" His grin was easy and she almost allowed herself to cave. Almost.

"My father, the elders, the clan, Konoha in general," she tried hard not to let her voice wobble as he reached into the bag and drew out… She closed her eyes, not wanted to know. Why was she so scared? He was her boyfriend. They were in a committed relationship. Why should she be afraid?

She opened her eyes and focused on his hand, only to see something even more offensive than the things she had thought he had.

"N no, Neji-san, we m m mustn't!" Hinata wished she hadn't stuttered in her shock. The subdued acoustics of the cramped storage room only made her protests sound even less convincing.

"Shh, it's okay," Neji assured her, his voice as smooth as velvet. Hinata felt the feelings she'd suppressed for so long starting to surface despite her desperately trying to fight them.

"But we're both Hyūga, and what if someone finds out?" she asked softly as he pressed something into her palm.

"They won't. Come now, you know you want this as much as I do"

"But…"

"No buts." He silenced her by placing his finger over her lips. "Just take it off, and I'll follow."

His command made Hinata swallow hard. What she and her cousin were about to do was wrong, and the mere thought of how her father would react if he found out made her weak with fear.

Still...

She looked into Neji's eyes, and the desire she saw there reflected her own. Finally, she gave in.

Her trembling fingers removed the wrapping from the chocolate bar, revealing smooth, dark squares of a divine scent. A soft crack told her Neji was one step ahead, and with no further hesitation, she followed his example. Soon the heavenly sweetness enveloped her tongue.

By doing this they were breaking the secret Hyūga diet, especially designed to purify chakra. It meant months of rigorous self restraint thrown out the window. And it was all worth it.

"Neji-san, I love chocolate!" she gasped. She hadn't had the treat since she was little and her caretaker had given it to her to quiet her.

Only, Neji didn't answer her. He was already lost in the bliss.


	15. Bewilderment

Bewilderment

Author: LonelyWriter

Summary: I love her. I want her. Why can't I have her?

Disclaimer: There is something rotten in the state of Kishimotoland. The recent chapters prove this.

…

Her cute little pink tongue was sensually licking its way up the opening of his sleep shirt causing all sorts of wonderful sensations. It was when the tongue made it to his ear and bit down that he finally acknowledged the beautiful sensations. He rolled over to give her a kiss, opening his eyes to see…Hinagiku.

He narrowed his eyes and glared at the cat as he rolled back onto his back. His dream version of Hinata had become so bold though his perverse brain had never taken them all the way. He was glad for that because he was sure he would never be able to look at his cousin again if it happened in his dreams. At least not until he experienced the real thing with her.

He groaned and got out of bed, filling the cat dish before changing. Hinagiku pounced on the food and Kyo was not far behind. The demon offspring were rather contently now all fast asleep on his recently vacated pillow. He scowled at them and made a mental note to wash his bedding.

He opened his door and slammed it before the cats could follow him down the hall. He could hear humming for the direction of the kitchen and he followed it knowing that his mother would be able to do something to cheer him up.

Hyūga Miku had her back turned on her son as he entered the room and dropped into the chair that had been his since he could remember.

"Troubled dreams?"

"By cats," he groaned and he laid his head on the table.

"You know you do not have to take care of them if you did not want to," Miku placed a bowl of miso in front of him.

"They aren't mine to get rid of," Neji sighed as he sat up and started eating his breakfast.

"Then ask Hinata-sama to find someone else to take care of them."

"I couldn't do that, Mom. It would break her heart."

Miku placed her chin in her palm and watched her only child. "She certainly has you wrapped around her little finger. When did this happen?"

"Mom," he groaned, pushing the half full bowl away. "I," he closed his mouth. How could he explain this to his mother?

"You love her." Miku said the words bluntly.

He buried his face in his hands. "What do I do?"

"Neji, we are Branch…"

Neji cut her off. "I love her. I want her. Why can't _I_ have her?"

Miku's eyes clouded. "Neji, you are her protector, not her lover. You can never be anything more than that. Please stop these childish fantasies."

Neji didn't answer. His eyes idly traced the grain of the wood table. Was his mother right? Deep down he knew it was true but admitting that out loud would tear his heart in two. Dammit. When had he grown feelings? His stoic mask had always been there to save him. What had happened to it? Had Hinata destroyed him so thoroughly?

"I hope you are content to never have grandchildren then," he said softly as he stood and walked away.

"Neji!" his mother's voice was sharp but he ignored it as he left the house.

…

He found Hinata in her garden here she grew the herbs that she made salves and ointments from. Since she was on Hyūga property she was wearing a lilac _kimono_ and _zori_. He could even see _tabi_ covered toes as he got closer. This outfit reminded him of just how high her position was compared to his. She was at the mountain top and he was in the valley, worshiping her in awe.

Since the chocolate incident-her name for it not his-two weeks ago he had been plagued with increasingly suggestive dreams about her that were close to driving him insane. Since they started their relationship he had enjoyed learning everything he could about the sweet girl crouching next to a large maple tree, gathering the tiny treasures, especially her mouth.

He would have to be lying to say that he didn't enjoy teaching her to kiss. But now his mother's words were haunting him. He had managed to ignore those feelings because he didn't want to admit that he had fallen in love with her. But now…

"Neji-san," Hinata said in surprise as she stood up and saw him there. His gaze was instantly on her face, checking to make sure that she was healthy and happy. He suddenly realized that he was doing it for his own selfish reasons. He had to make sure that she was actually happy to see him. He had to know that his presence wasn't making her uncomfortable.

"What's going on?" she said with a frown when he didn't respond. "Neji?"

"Hinata-sama," he bowed his head. "I apologize for not greeting you properly."

"Are you going to go all formal on me again?" She was looking at him with that completely trusting look on her face that suddenly made him feel like a compete bastard. How could he possibly be thinking about taking advantage of this sweet girl?

"Yes," he sighed. "Forgive me, Hinata-sama."

Her shoulders slumped. "Do I get an explanation? Or just the cold, heartless Neji back?"

The look of deep sadness that entered her eyes almost undid him. He longed to pull her into his arms and hold her tight, saving her from himself. But he wouldn't allow himself to. Not until he had his emotions under control. Not until he could accept that one day she would be married to another man while all he would be was her protector.

"Why Neji? Why?" She looked up into his eyes as if she could read the answers there. "What happened that I disgust you?"

Her words broke him and he swept her into his arms, crushing her small form to him. "It's not you. It's me. I can't be around you every day and want you in ways that I'm not supposed to. It's almost terrifying how much I want you, Hinata. I'm not sure that I can control myself around you. So it is best if I step back and allow someone else to take over the duty of protecting you."

"Have you considered my feelings on the matter?" she whispered as she cupped his face with those delicate hands that should have never seen war and its horrors. "That maybe, just maybe, I want you as much as you want me?"

"You would be horrified if you knew where my dreams take me every night. You would think that I am perverse and sick. You would be horrified to know how much I want you," he sighed, closing his eyes.

"How much do you want me?" His eyes flew open in disbelief. Surely she could get the gist without asking.

"Right now it is taking all my willpower not to throw you down against that tree and ravish you. To make you wholly and totally mine. To ruin you for any other guy. All against my self-preservation mode that is telling me your dad would kill me for doing so. I want to fall asleep next to you and wake up in the morning with you next to me. I want you to be there when I'm ninety and am blind and helpless. I want you always. From this day to the end of forever. When forever ends, I'll want you still."

"You sound like a sappy romantic," she giggled, "Though you are right, my dad would kill you if you ravished me in the garden."

"Hinata," he moaned. She was definitely making this all harder.

She shook her head before her lips met his. He knew she had meant it to be a slow kiss but his passion broke free and soon she was pressed against the tree and his hands, the very hands of the devil, were exploring her body unrepentantly. When he finally found the strength to pull away from her he saw that her lips were swollen from his ministration.

"I'm sorry," he muttered as he allowed her to stand.

"Neji?" She sounded so confused but he did not allow himself to turn around as he walked out of the garden and then the compound. He didn't have the strength to turn because if he had he would have never been able to leave.


	16. Numb

Numb

Author: LonelyWriter

Summary: Her life was like the blade of grass she had crushed. She had taken it from what it knew and now all it could do was wither on the ground and no one would care about its death.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did it would have ended a long time ago with Neji and Hinata's wedding and an epilogue showing their fifteen children.

…

"Why are you moping?" Hinata's head snapped up at the sound of her father's voice. "It is not like you Hinata."

She sighed and continued stripping the piece of grass in her hand. She felt her father sit next to her meaning she couldn't ignore him.

"I am not moping," she sighed. "Just thinking about something."

She couldn't see her father or his raised eyebrow through the fan of her unbound hair.

"A message came for me from the Hokage's office. It seems that Neji and his team are being sent to the border for an undisclosed amount of time. Kō will be watching over you again."

"Kō," she repeated, defeated. So he had left without any explanation for why he was acting the way he had. She understood that he felt like he couldn't be around her without compromising her, but he could have told her why all the sudden he was worried about it.

"Your mother's garden is beautiful this time of year. You have done a good job keeping it up," Hiashi's voice was soft as it always was when he spoke of his wife. She knew he was trying to cheer her up but it wouldn't work. Not even the praise she had so desperately wanted since childhood could help her now.

"Mother did all the hard work," she whispered. "I only have to make sure that weeds do not take it over."

"Hinata," her father's voice was vexed. "Take the complement for what it is."

"Why are you so worried about Mother's garden now? You've never cared before."

Hiashi was pleased that his elder daughter had finally stopped acting like a scared child around him though he did mind her snarky attitude. "You are sixteen now." His statement shouldn't have been that profound yet her head snapped up and she looked at him in confusion.

"So, you finally figured out how old I am?" Her voice broke slightly with her last word and she bowed her head again. "I am sorry. I should not speak to my elders in such a way."

"You are sixteen," he said as if she had never spoken. "You are at the age that the betrothal of the heir takes place. Names have been considered. Men interviewed. The council demands that I make a selection soon."

Hinata's shoulders slumped in defeat. So that was the reason that her father had come out here where he rarely went. So he could remind her that she was not in charge of her own life and was expected to marry a man of the council's choice. The blade of grass she had been playing with was destroyed and she tossed it to the ground. It reminded her of her life. Earlier it had been blissfully unaware of anything but the warm sun and the refreshing water soaked up by its roots. Then she had come and plucked it from the ground and everything it had known. She had taken it and crushed it, and now all it could do was wither on the ground and no one would care about its death.

"Despite the process," Hiashi continued, "No one man had all the qualities that we wanted. Out of all of them none were even close save one. Even he had flaws that would have removed him from the consideration except for one thing. You are quite close to him and we have noticed a growing friendship between the two of you. Despite this even he had to be removed from the consideration. Finally at the end of the deliberations and no suitable man could be found for the heiress to marry I finally suggested that she be allowed to choose herself. It was met with opposition but I believe that it would be a good idea for you to be allowed in on the process. You will be marrying the man after all. I would hope that the two of you could at least get along."

"You will allow me to choose?" She whispered slowly in disbelief.

"Yes. I am not a cruel father that would marry his daughter to a man that she could not live with. You do not believe me to be cruel, do you?"

She stared at him. She wouldn't tell him that she had always found his expectations for her outrageous and when he started comparing her to Hanabi…They were two different people. Of course she would never be able to be as good as Hanabi because Hanabi was her own person. Hinata had different strengths than her sister. She was her own person.

Hinata started picking at her nails absently as she thought about her father's words. Deep down she knew he had always wanted what was best for her and he had pushed her so she could be her best. But sometimes she was less than happy with him.

"I think you have always wanted what is best for me but you forget that I am not Hanabi. I can never be Hanabi. I am Hinata. Not Hanabi. I cannot be a genius like her. I can only do with what I was born with. And that is what I have done. I have become the best person I can be with what I was given at birth. You are not cruel, Father. But you need to realize you have two daughters, not one."

"You have grown so much Hinata," Hiashi said proudly. "When you were younger you could not be in my presence without being nervous and just now you told me what was on your heart honestly and clearly. I have always known you were not Hanabi. The reason I pushed you so hard is because you are just like your mother, a very fragile woman who broke at the slightest pressure. I did it to make you stronger so you would not break. I could not lose you, Hinata. You or Hanabi. The two of you are all I have left of your mother."

Hinata gave him a soft smile. "You won't lose us, Father. We will always be here. We are Hyūga. We stick together."

"Good," Hiashi pulled a scroll out of his robe and handed it to her. "Have you any thoughts on a husband?"

"Just one," she said as she opened the scroll and saw the name she wanted written on it. Her eyes went to his with a questioning look.

"I want you to be happy. I can see that he makes you happy. And if this is what you want, I will agree to it and not allow the council to have any say in the matter." Hiashi offered her a slight smile. "Think of it as an apology for not being the father I should have been."

Hinata glanced at the scroll again before throwing her arms around his neck. "Thank you."

"Now, all we have to do is wait for the groom to return," Hiashi said dryly.

Hinata giggled. "I'm sure you can take care of that, can't you?"

Hiashi contemplated it for several seconds before smiling at his elder daughter. "Of course."


	17. Homecoming

Homecoming

Author: LonelyWriter

Summary: I love you. And love is always irrational. I will not give you up for anything or anyone.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the Hyūga. I was needing some NejiHina goodness after the recent chapters. NejiHina will always be my OTP.

…  
Neji couldn't believe it when the orders to return to Konoha were given to him even after he had requested that he be sent on a mission that would require a long time away from the village. His heart and emotions were all jumbled together. He wasn't sure what was right or wrong, if the sky really was blue or if it was a trick. Most of all he hated how his rebellious heart had confessed to his cousin how deeply he wanted her. And the thing he hated most was the fact she had said and done nothing. She had listened to him give her his heart on a silver platter and she had merely listened and done nothing. She had thought it a joke.

The closer he got to Konoha the angrier he got. He couldn't understand why Tsunade had called him back to Konoha even after he had lied to her and told her that Hiashi wanted him to go to the northern border where his unique skills would be much appreciated. The northern border with the former Sound country was still a place of unrest and every once and a while a large skirmish would happen. He had specifically asked for the north knowing that. He would rather fight a dozen skirmishes a day than try and figure out what his crazy teenage hormones were trying to tell him. Sometimes he hated being a teenage male.

The journey was also giving him time to remember why he had run away from Konoha in the first place. He knew he could never have her. He had known that his whole life. Yet, he had allowed his heart to become involved with her. He was supposed to love her and protect her from afar. Her father had placed him in control of her so he could supervise her training and because as a male descendant of the royal line, he could become her spokesman if needed. That position had been created back before women were allowed to show their faces in public, before they were allowed to be ninja. A male had to represent a woman of high birth in society so her reputation was not ruined.

He had long been trying to fight against the traditions of his clan but he was also starting to realize that even though he might not like them they were there for a purpose. All he could do currently was respect them for now while trying to convince those with the power to change them.

As he approached the great gates of Konoha and saw the an written on them be wrinkled his nose. A sudden thought had come to him and he was not amused. The last time he had seen these gates he had also seen Hyūga Tokuma standing there talking with his Aburame teammate about Hinata. Neji had been close to walking over to the man and punching him but Gai and Lee had decided to go at that moment and he was forced to go with them. Team Gai had not been assigned to the Northern mission like he had been but they had still gone for recon to report back to Tsunade.

He made his way down the streets of Konoha he got a funny feeling in his stomach. Tokuma was of the Main family, had good ties with the royal line, was single and had strong Byakugan. Tokuma would be a perfect husband for Hinata. Neji was sure he was only about twenty-five meaning he was not that much older than her. He would be perfect for what Hiashi-sama wanted for Hinata.

With a sinking heart he entered the Hokage's office sure that his heart would soon expire from his sudden revelations. Damn all emotions! He should become a monk. Then he wouldn't have to deal with any of this.

Tsunade's eyes narrowed when she saw him. "I don't care about whatever boyish crush you have going on," she leaned back in her chair. "But shape up, Hyūga!" She yelled. "Now, Hiashi insisted that you had to come back to the village right away for clan business so I expect you to go straight home and deal with it!"

Neji blinked several times because he was sure that he wasn't that transparent. "I…shall," he said softly with a bow. He exited the room and made his way to the Hyūga compound as quickly as he could. He debated whether or not to take a shower before seeing his uncle on the way but finally decided he needed to when he sniffed his sleeve. If it smelled bad, the rest of his body smelled like a rotting corpse.

He swept through his house ignoring his mother so he could get his shower over with as quickly as possible. He had sorted through his clothes and was in the bathroom naked before he realized that the door to his room had been open. A quick inner debate happened before he decided to quickly shower then question his mother.

His hair was the most time consuming aspect of his shower and he decided to simply use soap to wash it since it rinsed out the easiest. He was out of the shower and dressing himself in the traditional Hyūga kimono in five minutes. There hadn't even been enough time for the mirror to fully fog over when he exited the room.

"Mom?" he called.

"In the kitchen," she replied. Neji was suddenly struck at how strange it was that his mother spent all her time in the kitchen.

"Mom," he said as he entered the room, "Why is my door open? Where are the cats? Hinata-sama will be mad if something happens to them."

"They aren't here," Miku said as she opened the oven door and placed what looked like a pan of cookies in it. "Hinata-sama took them away the day after you left Konoha. I asked her where she was taking them but she wouldn't tell me."

"Why did she do that?"

"How should I know the thoughts of a Main house member? Especially the Heiress?" Miku turned to look at him. "Here," she slipped an envelope out of her apron pocket. "Hinata-sama left this for you."

Neji took the envelope and opened it. A key slid out and he saw that there was a piece of paper but it only had an address on it. "What is this?"

Miku shook her head. "Hinata-sama told me to give it to you as soon as you returned."

Neji stared at the key trying to figure out Hinata's game. She had given him the address needed to figure it out but did he want to use it? His uncle was expecting him at the Main house as well. He knew just standing there was wasting time.

"I'll be back, Mom," he said as he kissed his mother's cheek and left the house.

The address led him not far from the Compound into a residential district of the more wealthy ninja. It was an apartment building that rose impressively above the street. He quickly located the number and was standing in front of the door, trying to decide whether or not he should go in. He had already come all the way here, but he wasn't sure what type of trick this could be either.

His moment of indecisiveness allowed him to see his feelings on the matter and after a rational process of analyzing them he discovered that he did in fact want to go through the door. The key was inserted and twisted, the tumblers falling into alignment so he could open the door.

He entered a living room and saw a kitchen to his right but the light coming from down the hallway along with purrs led him that direction. He stopped in the doorway to observe Hinata carefully brushing Hinagiku with Kyo trying to get in on the action. The orange cat was butting against Hinata's arm to try and get her to brush him but with the patience that was uniquely Hinata she ignored him.

Her patience and determination to go forward had always been one of her strongest suits and Neji felt himself drawn to her even more while watching them play out with her cats.

"Are you going to continue to watch me or are you going to say something?" Hinata didn't glance up from her work.

"What is this place?" He asked as he came forward and sat on the bed.

"It is your new apartment," she replied, still not looking at him.

"Why do I need an apartment?"

She didn't answer for several long moments. "I thought we had gotten over your sense of not doing your duty correctly because you fell in love with me. I thought we had admitted our feelings for one another and would soon be a real couple. Imagine my shock when I found out that you were leaving, and all you left me was a note. It neither amused nor satisfied me. Many people still believe that I am the weak little Heiress I was five years ago and thus they treat me the same as back then. But you never did. You saw past that and treated me like I was something special. I thought maybe we could be together. I dreamed of it. Then you left," the last word was choked and Neji knew she was crying.

"Hinata, I'm sorry," he whispered, pulling her into his arms. "I know what I did was stupid and a coward's way out of things but I needed to reflect on my feelings without you around to distract me. But know this, Hinata. I love you. And love is always irrational. I will not give you up for anything or anyone. And if you'll still have me," he trailed off, gently wiping her silken cheeks free of her tears. "It makes me sad that you cry for me."

"Idiot," she growled. "Why does my silly heart always go for the idiots?"

"Because it knows that you can heal them," he brushed her hair from her face and raised her chin. "You didn't answer my question."

"This apartment was given to you by my father," she said, no longer denying herself. "As a wedding present."

"I was unaware that I was getting married," he said with some shock. "May I inquire as to the name of the bride?"

She laughed. "You really are an idiot, aren't you?"

"An idiot in love?" He suggested.

"No, just an idiot," she sighed, content to be in his arms.

"I need to meet with your father," he said after several minutes.

She nodded but made no move.

"I will come straight back, I promise," he said as he gently kissed her temple.

"Fine," she smiled at him. "Straight back."

He smiled back. "Always."**  
**


	18. Nemesis

Nemesis

Author: LonelyWriter

Summary: Hiashi has found his nemesis…

Disclaimer: HYUGACEST. It should have happened. However, I do not own the manga, and thus it did not. Sadface.

…

It had started. The inhabitants of the Hyūga compound were in an uproar. It was only three days after Neji returned but the Heiress ignored the commotion. She was too busy with her favorite beings in the world.

"Hinagiku," she scolded as she picked up the cat after she tried to bite Kyo's ear. "You need to start being nicer to Kyo. He is your consort. The only one you will ever have. Don't screw it up." The cats ignored her and she sighed. Her bedroom, the one that she had called hers since she was born seemed so strange and foreign to her now that she had been spending most of her days at Neji and her apartment. Because of that she had managed to sneak Hinagiku and Kyo into the main compound. They made it better but she was still uncertain as to what she wanted to do.

Her two cats curled up on her lap, both contently purring. Their three kittens that Neji had so despised when they were born had been given to good homes; Ino had taken Kurumu and Tenten had claimed Hai. Orenji had been given to a Branch member whose daughter was sick in hopes the kitten would help her heal. By all accounts Hinata had heard the girl was getting better. While she had been loth to part with her beloved kittens, Hinata had seen the reason in Neji's protests about keeping them and she also knew that she was getting married soon and couldn't let her pets be left behind.

She had been debating with herself about keeping Hinagiku and Kyo and finally decided they would stay a while longer, allowing her to find a perfect home for them if one existed.

A rumble of thunder pulled her from her musings as shouts came from outside. Upheaval in the clan was nothing new but this was different. The Heiress was to marry a Branch member. The downfall of the Hyūga had begun in the Elder's eyes.

Hiashi had informed her that this might happen and perhaps it was a good thing that Neji wasn't here right now to be the subject of their hatred. Tsunade had called him two days ago and assigned him to a quick trip back to the northern border to offer quick support and much needed supplies. He was only supposed to be gone for a week and Hinata had looked the Hokage straight in the eye and made her promise it would be so.

Hinata had been spared from most of the gossip and dirty looks by the fact she was the Heiress. But even then she was still hiding from it all. The Elders were so old fashioned that sometimes she couldn't help but want to scream.

The Elders would see the wisdom in allowing her to marry Neji, she knew this, but for right now she wanted nothing to do with them. She wanted to wallow in her own self pity at the fact that the man she would take as her husband had fled the village because he was just as confused about his emotions as she was about her own and only the Hokage forcing him back had straightened it all out. If something like that could happen so easily, how would it be in their marriage? That was something they needed to address but Hinata desperately did not want to.

She knew that she loved him, but sometimes, especially times when he was being so pigheaded she wanted to forget him. It was not her fault he was an idiot and was not willing to hope that perhaps she was willing to fight for their relationship as well. She knew that he still had doubts even when confronted with the fact that her father had in fact given them permission to marry.

"He's stupid," she whispered into Hinagiku's fur. "And yet, I can't live without him. Why are boys so frustrating?" The cat turned her head and cocked it the side as if to say, _silly human. You worry too much_. "You have it so easy," Hinata dryly responded. "You are a cat."

"Yes, and I wonder what it is doing here," Hinata stiffened as she heard her father's voice from behind her. Kyo jumped up and hissed before darting away. "Who is the owner of this animal?"

Hinata clenched Hinagiku to her. She did not want to have this conversation with her father. He would tell her that she had to get rid of her cats.

"Hinata?" Her father's voice was stern and she knew she could not ignore him any longer. She turned slowly, knowing he would have a look of disapproval on his face.

"This is Hinagiku, Father," Hinata tried to hide her face in her hair as she stood. "Neji is the one who has been taking care of her." Hinata straightened and allowed her hair to fall back. "But she is mine."

Hiashi's face was a mask of indifference but she could see the tiniest spark in his eyes, that same spark she had seen when he allowed her engagement to Neji.

"Would," Hinata hesitated before holding out Hinagiku, "You like to pet her?"

Hiashi stretched out his hand hesitantly and patted the cat's head. "Yes, well," he said as he carefully brushed his hand against his kimono. "I came to remind you that there is a meeting of the Elders this afternoon and you will be required to attend."

"Yes, Father. I remember. I will not be late."

"Good," Hiashi gave a sharp nod before turning to go. "And Hinata?"

"Yes, Father?"

"Remember that Hanabi is allergic to cats," he said and then walked out of the room.

…

Never before in his four decades of life had Hyūga Hiashi seen anything as maddening as cat hair. He had only touched the cat for five seconds and yet its hair was everywhere. He had noticed the first one only moments after he had returned from his talk with his elder daughter and had absentmindedly brushed it away. Only to find another. And another. And another. And…

He stood abruptly and went to the small pitcher of water sitting in the corner. Perhaps he could remove the offensive hairs using a damp towel. Only that solution only made his kimono wet. He discarded the towel and went back to his desk where he searched for anything that looked like it would be able to remove cat hair but could find nothing.

He stood again and swept out of his office, ignoring the servants as they scrambled to bow. It was a silly practice, bowing. It made the people look ridiculous and made him feel slightly silly that people were bowing to him. He made it to his room and quickly removed the offensive clothing and threw it on the floor. He would have a servant burn the kimono later so the hair would never return.

As he went to open his closet door he paused, a strange noise coming from behind the door. He leaned closer so he could hear better. He had heard the noise before but he could not place it. Slowly he opened the door, well aware that if an enemy ninja was in there he was only wearing his underwear.

There, curled up on top of one of his ceremonial kimonos that had somehow ended up on the floor was a cat of the most offensive color orange. Orange fur clung to all of his kimonos. His eyebrow twitched.

"HINATA!"


	19. Tea

Tea

Author: Lonely Writer

Summary: Hinata has a cold.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Neji, or Hinata. Hinagiku, Kyo, and Tadanobu are mine.

She had never felt so bad in her entire life.

She could barely breath through her nose and her head felt as if someone was standing on top of it, dancing. But it was her temperature that was the worst. Once second she was freezing and had several blankets piled on top of her and then the next she was burning up and tossing the blankets aside. Only to be freezing again. She could not remember the last time she had been sick. She had been injured more times than she liked to count but illness was foreign to her. The only good part was that Neji was here and so far had been smothering her with his doctoring. Tsunade-sama had been called first thing when her maid had discovered her still in bed well after her training sessions should have started. Tsunade-sama had not been worried about her; it was just a simple cold. Nothing more. Her father had not been pleased with that pronouncement. He wanted her cured right away to which Tsunade-sama had stated she could but it would not be as beneficial as allowing the cold to run its course.

She moaned and rolled onto her side, disrupting Hinagiku who was curled up beside her. Kyo stared at her from beside the door before letting his eyes drop closed. If she hadn't felt so bad she would have gotten up and snuggled with him for being so cute in his actions. Instead she let out a sound that was a cross between a squeal and a cough. She hated being sick.

For some reason Neji had decided to go the other side of the village to get special tea from the Akimichi clan via the Nara that was supposed to be soothing for people with sore throats. All she wanted was him to be here. She wanted him to hold her hand and stroke her hair. To tell her meaningless stories just so she could hear the bass of his voice.

The position that she was curled up on stared hurting so she rolled over again. Only moments later she had to move again. Sleep wouldn't come and all she could do was think about how much she felt like dying. She squeezed her eyes closed and willed sleep to come but it did not.

Just when she was about to call for her maid, her bedroom door opened and a young boy stuck his head through.

"Tadanobu," she croaked in delight. The boy grinned before entering the room with a tray in his arms.

"I brought tea," Tadanobu set down the tray and then helped her sit up. "Neji said he got it special for you. Uncle Hiashi saw him and called him into his office. So I brought it for you instead."

Hinata grinned at him and took the cup he offered. Tadanobu was the son of her father's sister and a member of the Hyūga council who had no interest in him. It truly was sad except for the fact that Neji had decided to take an interest in the boy after it was discovered that he was woefully behind in his jūken and byakugan training. Under Neji's careful tutelage Tadanobu was turning out to be a true protégée.

"Did Neji brew it?" Hinata asked softly. Tadanobu nodded shyly as he handed her a manju.

Hinata smiled fondly as she sipped her tea. Already her throat was feeling better and the pulsing in her head had disappeared. Perhaps the Nara really did know what they were doing when they had created the tea.

"Neji says that I still need to work on my tea brewing skills," he sighed. "Neji's the best, isn't he?"

_Yes,_ Hinata thought as she sipped the tea. _ He is._

_A/N: After the thing with Neji in the manga I gave up hope but today, looking at the Nejihina tag on Tumblr my love spilled forth once more. You will live in my heart forever, Nejihina!_


	20. Herbs and Lovers

Herbs and Lovers

Author: Lonely Writer 42

Summary: Hinata and Tadanobu hang out and Neji makes a surprise appearance between missions!

Disclaimer: Oh hi there. It is just this one; sitting in the corner crying over Neji feels. Please don't sue this one.

Hinata rubbed her hands together. Ever since getting over her cold she had devoted herself to taking inventory of her herb collection. The weeds had threatened to take over in the two weeks she had been out of commission.

The weeds weren't going to pull themselves and with a sigh Hinata pushed up her sleeves and started pulling up the intruding plants. After about ten minutes of this, another pair of hands appeared. She glanced up and smiled.

"Tadanobu, shouldn't you be with Arata-sensei?"

Tadanobu shook his head. "I got to go early today. Arata-sensei told us that we were done with missions today. Mostly we walked dogs and picked weeds," Tadanobu made a face as he pulled a clump of grass from the garden.

"Then you have plenty of practice to help me," Hinata gently teased. With Tadanobu's extra set of hands they made quick work of the weeds. She then showed him the different type of herbs that grew there and what their functions were. He seemed especially excited when she allowed him to harvest several different types and when she told him she would show him how to make a salve that would relieve muscle pain he excitedly started chattering about how one of his teammates had been complaining about it and he wanted to give them the salve.

Hinata had a bemused smile on her face the whole time; this was the most talking she had ever heard from Tadanobu. She genuinely liked her cousin and was a little sad that she had never spent much time with him before. His mother had tried to hide him away from the clan until Hiashi had decided he needed to go to the academy because he was turning out to be a soft and weak Hyūga. Hinata had not agreed with his decision but there was a reason he was Head and not she.

She took Tadanobu back to her rooms where she had set up her herb storage in her smaller second room. While Tadanobu played with Hinagiku and Kyo she set up her table with ingredients. As she watched the boy play a wave of longing for children she didn't know she possessed swept over her and she sighed wistfully. When Tadanobu looked up with a frown she shook her head and beckoned him over.

The salve they created was not quite the same quality she usually made but Tadanobu was grinning at the results in the end. He took the small jar and with a yelling promise to visit her tomorrow he ran off.

She chuckled softly to herself as she cleaned up, wondering if she had been like that as a child. She really didn't remember. Everything before Hanabi's birth was a blur in her memories. The only clear memory was her mother's smiling face. She sighed wistfully again and without thinking ran her hand over her flat stomach. She was old enough to have children but with the uncertainty of the world she didn't know if she wanted to bring a child into it.

She was so caught up in her musings that she didn't even realize that there was another person in the room until they cleared their throat. She spun and assumed the jūken stance before she registered who it was.

"You know," Neji said dryly as she crashed into him and wrapped her arms around his waist, "I could have knocked you out, drugged you, and had you half way across the village by now I've been standing here that long. You're losing your stealthy ninja senses."

"I was sick," Hinata mumbled into his chest. "Plus you would have to get past Eki-san, Juro-san, Miyabi-san, and Toru-kun to get me out of this part of the compound. They have been hanging around ever since I got sick."

"They better be," he grumbled as he tightened his arms around her. "I don't want to be a widower before I even get married."

Hinata giggled before having another thought and pushing away from him. "You haven't come to see me in two days now! Not since you got me that tea from the Nara! It's been too long for you to think that you can just waltz in here and have love and adoration flung at you." She stomped her foot for good measure as she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.

"I've been busy," he said offhandedly.

"To busy to visit me," she said dryly.

"I have to keep your dad on my good side or he might tell me that I cannot have you anymore and I would never want that to happen," Neji said softly as he reached out and gently caressed her cheek. "I can't imagine a world where I can't have you."

"I don't want to imagine that world either," she sighed, nuzzling his hand. He raised an eyebrow at her and she went back to his embrace. His clever fingers started rubbing circles on her back and she settled her head in the nape of his neck. They stood like that for several moments, enjoying the simple act of be in each other's presence. Then Neji started chuckling.

"What?" Hinata moaned, not liking that he was disrupting the embrace with laughter.

"I was just wondering what you were thinking about when I walked in here. It looked like you were about to get frisky with your stomach."

Hinata buried her face in his neck so he couldn't see her blush. "I was thinking about babies," she whispered. "Hoping they have your hair."

That got a real laugh from him. "My hair? It's not that special."

"I think it is," she muttered as she tugged gently on the ends. "It's much better than mine. I don't even look like a Hyūga. I look like the poor pity stepchild no one wants to acknowledge, shoved into a corner and ignored by everyone-"

"Are you trying to have a pity party?" He interrupted her.

"I'm trying to guilt-trip you into kissing me," she pouted.

"If you wanted me to kiss you all you had to do was ask," he murmured as he hooked his finger under her chin and raised her face. "Actually, you don't even have to ask. You could take initiative once and a while. I wouldn't mind."

She blushed and he laughed. Then, to prove she had initiative she raised her lips to his and cut off his laugh. The next several moments were spent not thinking as each fought for dominance with their mouths. Hinata tangled her hands in Neji's hair and Neji's hands became quite friendly with her bottom.

This would have continued for several moments more if Tadanobu's boyish voice called from the doorway, "Hinata-sama, do you have any," his voice was cut off and Hinata pushed away from Neji in time to see Tadanobu's retreating form.

Hinata groaned. "I don't want to explain that to him. He's only eight."

"And a ninja who has graduated the academy," Neji reminded her as he straightened her kimono. "I'm pretty sure he knows what kissing is."

She groaned again. "I'll explain it to him," Neji said softly. "Though it might be hard considering that massive crush he has on you. He may even fight me for your affection. What do you say? Two dashing young men fighting over you? It's every girl's erotic fantasy," he murmured into her ear as his lips slid down her neck to kiss the nape.

"You obviously have no idea about what women dream of," Hinata stated as she pushed him away. "I don't want boys fighting over me."

"I would," he said then a blush appeared on his cheeks as he realized what he said. Hinata started laughing.

"I'm sure I can arrange it," she giggled.

"That's not what I meant," he growled as he pulled her back against his body.

"Admit it, you want everyone fawning over you," she said airily, fanning herself mockingly.

"No, just one person," he said. "Luckily I already have her interest. Now, what were the names of our children?" He asked to distract her.

She blushed again and avoided his gaze. "I haven't thought of any yet."

"Meaning you haven't settled on _one_ name yet. You have several picked out. C'mon. I want to know my offspring's names."

Hinata pressed her lips together. "Hiroki or Natsu for a boy and Hitomi for a girl."

"I like Natsu," Neji said as kissed the corner of her lip. "Will he be born in the spring?"

"For that to happen we would have to get married soon," Hinata muttered as she hooked her arms around his neck.

"We don't necessarily have to get married, no one's around. This is a secluded part of the compound. We could make a baby right here against your herb table. You'll never be able to look at it the same again."

Hinata giggled nervously. "As tempting as the offer is, I don't think it's a good idea. At least not today," she blushed.

"Tomorrow it is then," he teased her.


End file.
